Ne Fame Ex Animo: Lost Chapters
by LuckyLuke777
Summary: A man is dropped off in a strange new world. The only thing he manages to remember is that his name is Wilson. Now he must brave the elements of this strange new world and escape. However, is escaping this world the answer?
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_**Ne Fame: Ex Animo**_

A man. A man in a black suit. He was tall and had a thin, angular build. His skin was pale and sleek without flaw, but no empathy could be found in those dark eyes.

"Say pal, you don't look so well," he said, towering over me. His voice was full of mockery and arrogance.

"You better find something to eat." He disappears into a cloud of black smoke. My vision blurs, but from what, I don't know.

"Nice cheap parlor trick," I mumble. I slowly got up and glanced around, orienting myself. Where did he go? More importantly, why can't I remember who he was? Wait, who am I? "Wilson," I whisper to myself. Is that his name? No wait, that's my name. My name is Wilson.

"I have more important matters to attend to than my name," I chide myself. I stand up to get a better look at my surroundings. Trees, grass, and assorted plants and flowers are dispersed amongst the environment. Why the heck would he just drop me off in some random forest?

A distinct warble-like sound comes from behind me. I ready myself into a somewhat defensive stance. I stare intently at the bush as my heart beats in my chest.

"Must be some kind of bloodthirsty beast, wanting to tear me limb from limb," I think to myself. I wait in unending anticipation for the beast to emerge from the brush. Something bursts forth from the foliage and I see… it's a stupid turkey.

"I'm on edge for nothing. Get outta here you stupid bird!" I yell, waving my arms frantically. It clucks shrilly and quickly patters away deep into the forest.

"Guess I should try to make a camp." I say to myself.

I spend the day doing heavy, mediocre labor. Collecting grass and twigs for kindling, finding sturdy rocks for tools, and foraging for bits and pieces of food. I managed to make a crude axe, good enough to chop small trees down anyhow. Among the scraps of materials I foraged, there was a gold nugget.

"Wish this had value out here in the middle of nowhere," I say to nobody in particular. Halfway amused, I jam the nugget into my pocket, and I continue on.

I noticed how out of shape I was. What did I do for a living before I was dropped here, lie in bed all day? I now, however, do not have the luxury of lying around. I seemed to have excellent vision in my life before I was dropped here, because I spotted a pile of white rocks far in the distance. I broke into a comfortable jog and went closer to examine it more closely.

"Those are some weird rocks," I say quietly to myself. "Wait a second. Those aren't rocks." I investigated further.

The skeleton was tall to say in the least, being at least a foot and a half taller than me. It looked masculine, but I cannot trust my judgement, because the skeleton was disfigured from decomposition. Not too far from the skeleton, there was a backpack, crafted from some twigs, grass, and some kind of adhesive. Because of the unfamiliar smell it had, I chose not to identify the adhesive.

"Well, better him than me." The backpack had some run-of-the-mill survival supplies in it. Chunks of charcoal, rocks, and oddly, a piece of meat WAY past its expiration date.

The questions that came to me were annoying, mostly because I didn't know the answers. If there's a skeleton here, are there any other survivors like me?

After hard effort, perseverance, and a few vulgar words my mother could have scolded me for, I had a fire made. Nighttime eventually fell, and I found myself twiddling my thumbs, staring absentmindedly at the fire I had created. The night was dark, darker than usual if that even makes any sense. Strange sounds emitted from the inky blackness. The berries I had gathered had an unsophisticated taste to them. I found that roasting them on a stick made them a bit more tolerable to my taste buds.

"Man, what I would give for a hamburger," I say. I munched some more on those berries I had gathered, in an attempt to calm my nerves. It didn't work.

I didn't sleep. I spent the whole night gazing dazedly at the fire. When dawn arrived, I unwittingly had dozed off. When I finally awoke, I gazed at the sun, approximating that I had only slept for about four or five hours. The forest looked to be void of life, but I know that the forest dwellers are hiding somewhere. A shame really, as I had looked forward to an easy meal this morning. The fire was just ashes by now, and I had little kindling left. The idea of finding something to fill my now empty belly pushed me off the ground.

"Well, I'm not going to get anywhere staying here," I say to a nearby tree. I frown at the tree.

"I really am losing it." I threw on my backpack, then played eenie meenie minie moe to choose a direction to explore in. Don't judge my methods.

So I headed out into the unknown. I traipsed aimlessly in the one direction that fate had me pick. I passed a few beehives along the way. For future reference, bees are very stingy with their honey and are not interested in sharing. After rubbing the stings on my body, I noticed the edge of the forest. A wide open plains was ahead, past the point where the trees dared not to grow further. The plains were indeed a sight for my sore eyes, as I deduced that I did not do well with the claustrophobia the forest gave me.

The plains seemed to roll on for eternity. Food was my only motivator to move on. Luckily, it seemed that the plains made an excellent habitat for carrots and miscellaneous berries (which may or may not kill me). After I plucked a carrot out of the ground with a satisfying _Pop_, I looked up and was face to face with a hairy beast.

"Gahh!" I yelled with surprise, and the beast bellowed in reply. I backpedaled as fast as I humanly could, then turned around and ran a good 30 yards. Not to brag or anything, but I'm pretty sure I beat the world record for a 30 yard sprint. After huffing and puffing for a few minutes, I looked back up in the direction that I ran from. I proceeded forward with caution. I arrived back to the spot where I ran from, and got a better look at the "beast" that I saw. It appeared to be something like if a buffalo and a cow had a baby, but that baby took steroids. It was quite large, my estimate of it weighing at least 2000 pounds. It had a lot of fur, the fur being a very ragged and a dark brown color. It had two eyes that stared off into space, showing the passiveness of this magnificent beast. My dream of having a hamburger may happen. However, upon further inspection I saw that it had an unreasonably large pair of horns, white and sharp, ready to stab any threat that comes its way. For my mortal well being, I decided to be a vegetarian.

Perhaps I don't have to be a vegetarian. I found a rabbit hole a few minutes ago. After finding it, I proceeded to tie a carrot to a makeshift fishing rod, which I had prepared the night before. The hook was made out of a chiseled rock, and the string was made out of a thin grass. I had thought I would be using it to catch fish, not rabbits. But, I tossed the hook with a carrot on it into the hole.

"Fishing for rabbits, not the weirdest thing I've ever done," I chuckle to myself. Surprisingly, after a few minutes, the stupid rabbit actually BIT the bait. I couldn't believe it. It was snagged on the hook and the rod started to shake back and forth. I yanked the rod and reeled in my prize. I quickly struck the rabbit in the head with a sharp rock. It laid lifeless.

Night fell again, as I expected. I hungrily stared at the rabbit meat that was roasting over the fire. After five minutes, it was ready for consumption. I gawked at it, the first kind of meat that I had obtained since I was dropped here. I tried to savor the flavor, but I ended up gobbling down the meal quickly. I collapsed down near the fire, ready for sleep to overtake me. I had put enough kindling on the fire to last the entire night.

"Maybe life isn't so bad here," I say with a satisfied tone. I stretched my arms above my head and yawned. "Maybe it isn't."

I was sadly incorrect. I awoke to the sound of hissing. Hissings, I should say. There were spiders, about 20 feet from me, approaching with anger evident in their faces. What most are likely thinking is that they're just a bunch of spiders, go squish them with the boot of your heel and be done with it. These spiders were like none I've seen before. They were as big as a rottweiler, and just as mean looking. They seemed to weigh at least 60 pounds each, with fangs as large as a butcher's knife. They continued approaching menacingly, looking at me with eyes of vexation. My body was running before my brain could give the order to flee. I heard the screeches of them, and they scuttled swiftly towards their prey, which was me. They were chomping at my ankles, and I tried not to notice the blood dripping from my leg. I kept trying to think of a way to escape, but the physical exhaustion of sprinting clouded my thoughts.

You won't believe me. Nope, you won't. Well if you believe the spiders exist, maybe you'll buy this too. A pig, running on two legs, sprinted past me. The pig had a brown-yellow kilt on, made out of dried grass. The pig did not run away from the spiders, but towards them.

"SPIDER BAD!" yelled the pig. I, at this point, simply gave up on understanding anything in the entire universe. I ogled at this spectacle; a talking pig that runs on it's hind legs that fights off giant spiders. The pig had a good deal of muscle behind its punches, but its fighting techniques was primitive. But I guess it did not need advanced combat moves, because its strength seemed to get the job done. After seeing the pig stomp out over half of their numbers, the remaining spiders got the idea and fled. The pig stretched out his arms and worked the kinks out of its neck. Then it looked to the right and noticed me for the first time.

"Spider?" the pig asked, pointing a hoof at me.

"No, no, no, no, I'm not a spider," I quickly explained, wanting to avoid a misunderstanding.

"My name is Wilson." The pig stared at me, as if I was the strange phenomenon and not him.

"Name is Chip," he said, somewhat slowly.

"Are you hungry Chip?" I asked, in an attempt to be friendly with the sentient pig.

"Chip always hungry!" he replied with gusto, hitting his chest. I dug through my backpack quickly, not wanting to keep him waiting. Luckily, I hadn't eaten all the rabbit I had caught. I wanted to save it for later, but it was already starting to spoil, and Chip pretty much saved my life with the spider extermination.

"Uh, here," I say, handing it over to him, "Do you like rabbit?" But he had already eaten it all by the time I had finished asking him the question. Chip sighed in satisfaction and rubbed his belly.

"You friend," he told me.

"Cool," I said, with a smile forming in the corner of my mouth.

"You cold?" he said questioningly.

"No, you see It's an express- nevermind," I said, giving up on teaching a pig grammar.

"You good. Meet pig king!" Chip said with eagerness.

"Pig king?" I reply, astonished that they are smart enough to establish a monarchy. Chip started tugging me by my hand, and his kung-fu grip was inescapable, so I simply let him drag me wherever he planned to take me. I hope Chip has a good sense of direction.

I guess he does. In less than 15 minutes, we were there. There was a path, made from assorted rocks and clumps of dirt leading to the village. It was actually a well constructed pathway. The trail wound around trees and past ponds, and eventually cut straight through the village itself. There were crudely constructed houses, which I assumed where the pigs lived. There were some grunts and a squeal or two when Chip and I arrived at the center of the village.

Then I saw him. The pig king wasn't really hard to spot. He was enormous, and was immensely fat. He had to weigh at least three or four thousand pounds, and was maybe ten times larger than me in mass, no joke. He had a fancy crown crafted from branches and sod, and had a peculiar blue gem smack-dab in the middle of his crown, just above his forehead. He dressed more or less the same as Chip. He seemed to be the most intrigued by my arrival, his face filled with curiosity. I wonder why they chose him as king; was he the wisest, or maybe the most skilled at something?

I continued walking, eventually arriving at a staircase leading up to the king. All eyes were on me, and I carefully made my way up the stairs. A few pigs ran up behind the king and helped him up to a sitting position, then they kneeled before him. I followed suit, not wanting to offend the behemoth. I could feel the suspense filling in the air. If the pig king did not approve of me, I'm not sure what would happen. Banishment? Death by hooves?

The king composed himself with a regal authority, gesturing a hoof at me.

"Is friend?" He questioned Chip. I noticed that I had unknowingly been chewing on my fingernails. The entire village was silent. Chip simply replied, "Is friend."

The king had a look of contemplation in his eyes. He looked me straight in the eyes. We held eye contact for a full 10 seconds. It felt like an eternity. The tension was in the air, and not a sound was made. Then the king threw his hands up in the air and announced, "Is friend!" All the pigs in the village roared with approval and congregated around me, welcoming me to the village. I guess Chip holds some kind of authority if the king takes his word just like that.

After being accepted into the village as a member, I was feeling pretty good. No more solitude for me, even if it isn't the most refined company. So immediately after the pig king announced my acceptance, he insisted upon having a feast, in the honor of my arrival. But I had a feeling that they were going to have a feast anyway. So I followed Chip and sat next to him at the large dining table that they had a brief walk away from the center of the village.

The food served was new and exotic to me, and the flavor of the meal was quite, uh, unique. The appetizer was an assortment of bugs. It ranged from butterfly wings to ant legs to dragonfly tails. Not wanting to offend their culture, I sampled every single one. Also, my stomach has been rumbling since this morning. A few of the appetizers were endurable, while a few others had me secretly spitting them out when no one was looking. The pig king sat at the head of the table, interjecting every once in a while in the conversations of his fellow citizens. All the while, I was still trying to wipe the awful taste of ant legs out of my mouth. I hoped for the next course to not be bug related.

Of course the main course was spider legs. It came with some kind of yellow dipping sauce that tasted like honey, but had a sour aftertaste. The spider legs were actually pretty good I've got to admit, tasting a bit like chicken . They had a nice crunchy texture to them, and I'm surprised how the cooks managed to make such an excellent sauce to accompany them. I guess these pigs know how to eat. There was simple talk and laughter dispersed amongst the table. I was silently chomping down my third helping of spider legs, trying to compensate for the hunger that I had all day. I hope my stomach can handle dessert.

Finally, dessert was served. I waited in semi-excited anticipation for the last course.

"Friend gets first bite!" Chip declared. All the pigs surrounding the table pounded their hooves on the table in approval. The pig king nodded, showing that he agreed. Chip walked over to me with the very large plate of the "desert".

"Friend will like!" Chip said with a big grin plastered on his face. I leaned over and got a better look of what I would be eating. The plate had lots of pink blobs that had a smooth texture with little wavy bumps along the sides of them. I recognized what they were for some reason. Perhaps I studied spiders before I was dropped here or something? It was a gland found in certain species of non-venomous arachnids. I think it was responsible for producing silk for webs. However, these were giant sized versions of the gland. I looked over the plate contemplatively and picked one of them up. It was all slimy and squishy in my hand. All of the village was looking at me, in waiting.

"Well, down the hatch," I say aloud. I take the first bite.

My tastebuds blenched in revolt. It tasted like raw eggs with moldy applesauce. Tears formed at the edges of my eyes as I tried to keep my dinner down. I finally swallowed it down and shuddered.

"Why have tears? Is bad dessert?" Chip asked me.

"No," I say, "it's so delicious, it brings tears to my eyes." I coughed and rubbed my eyes.

"Friend want more?" I cringed at the thought of swallowing another one.

"Nah, you guys deserve it more," I say casually. Chip looked confused, but then he just shrugged and placed the plate of those nauseating excuses for food in the middle of the table. It turned into a mad house instantly and it was every pig for himself as they all swarmed the plate of glands. After a few seconds, there were none left. I know these pigs have different taste buds but COME ON! I wondered why there were none left for the king, but then I realized that he had a whole plate for himself.

After the feast, all the pigs went to their respective homes. Chip invited me to stay at his house, but his place, well, smelled like a pig sty. So I told him that I preferred to sleep out under the stars. I started a small campfire then layed down on a bed of grass. I still could not recall how I got here and why. It's like everything is on the tip of my tongue, but just out of my grasp. I rolled over in frustration at my inability to recall anything of much importance from my previous life. When I rolled over, the gold nugget in my pocket jabbed me in my thigh. I winced at the sensation, then sat up and took it out of my pocket. I held it up closer to my face so I could inspect it better. It was a good-sized chunk of gold, fitting almost perfectly into the palm of my hand. I bet this could fetch a pretty penny back in the real world.

"Funny how this isn't renewable." I say aloud, voicing my thoughts, I found talking to myself aloud kept my mind at ease.

"You mine all the gold in the world and that's it. It doesn't grow on trees, you can't just cook it up in a lab…" I paused in mid-sentence with a look of deep concentration on my face. A lab. Gold. Cook. Not cook, but synthesize? I knew I was onto something. Something about my past. The reason why and how I got here. I focused on trying to remember.

I freeze completely. My memories rush into my mind, and I sit there in stunned revelation. I have that, "Ah ha!" moment in my head. I remember.

I am Wilson P. Higgsbury. I lived in a wooden house out in the middle of the woods. I was a scientist, a chemist to be specific. I made my living day by day, mixing up chemicals to cure diseases or whatever the market needed in a nearby town. I was hot on the trail of figuring out how to synthesize gold with only some common rocks. However, I had failure, after failure, after failure. Explosions, burns, any kind of biological mishap happened to me as I continued trying to find that perfect balance of chemicals, to make me rich and famous beyond my imagination. After the thousandth time of failure, I yelled in rage and smashed a nearby test tube in my anger. I massaged my temples as I walked and sat down in a nearby chair in disgusted defeat. My radio went off, with a strange man's voice whom I've never heard before. It said, "Say pal, looks like you're having some trouble. I have secret knowledge I can share with you. If you think you are ready for it." In my hopeless desperation, my thirst to solve this impossible puzzle, I agreed to listen to the man's so called, "Secret Knowledge".

"Ok then," he replied to me. I picked up the radio, with my hands somewhat shaking. Strange letters, numbers, and symbols surrounded me in a flash of light, and swirled within my vision. I felt my mind learning, acquiring knowledge. The symbols surrounding me suddenly disappear faster than they appeared. A smile grows on my face, as I knew how to synthesis the gold. I needed to build a machine. The blueprints for the machine were implanted in my mind, clear as day. I hurriedly raced around, gathering parts to build this magnificent machine. Wealth was just a few gears away. I worked for 5 days straight, only stopping to take short naps and eat brief meals. Finally, it was finished. I examined the finished product, and saw all the main parts. It looked like a gateway. There was a lever on the side of it.

"Excellent!" I jumped at the sound, but then realized it was just the radio. I wonder how he knew I was done?

"Now throw the switch," he said. I hesitated for a brief moment, afraid whether it would do its job or just explode. I also did not trust this man.

"DO IT!" he yelled. I hesitated for one more second, then I pulled the switch down. The machine made a whirring sound, and then outlined menacing shadows flew around the room. The shadows were on the wall and the floor. Alarm and panic overtook me. I heard the man laughing on the radio. He laughed a sinister laugh, the kind of laugh that sends chills down your spine. The laughter was maddening, filling every one of my senses with dread. I started to back away from this monstrosity I had created in sheer terror. One of the shadows became tangible. It was a pair of clawed hands, and they rose out of the floor. I started sprinting and I tried to jump out the window, but the hands grabbed me and yanked me down into the murky darkness that it resided in.

After figuring this out last night, I headed out to find the pig king. I found him, and saw that there was already a village meeting in progress. Perfect. When it ended, I seized the opportunity to tell everyone in the village of my revelation. I tried to summarize the story in quick parts and tried to "dumb it down" for them. I seemed to have done a good job, because after my story, they all seemed to understand the predicament that I'm in.

"We help," the pig king tells me. "We help build thing." I sigh with relief. Having a whole pig army to help me reconstruct this gate will be awesome. My plan is to recreate the gate that sent me to this world. I didn't know if it would work, but it was my best shot out of here.

"But first, prove self as warrior." Huh? Hey I'm not a fighter. I'm pretty sure papercuts are a worthy adversary for me. I'm just a researcher, and a mediocre one at that. I don't solve things by fighting.

"If you is warrior, we help. If no, live here forever." Forever? Gee, that's a long time. But what other choice do I have? My mind was running at a mile a minute, yet I couldn't find a solution without the help of these pig people. I would have to do what needs to be done to survive.

"I will prove myself," I say to the pig king, in fake confidence. "I'm a warrior." The pigs cheers reverberate throughout the village in approval, and they all clap me on the back. The pigs started to lead me to where I assumed my challenge would be.

"It's okay," I whisper to myself, "how hard could this challenge be?"

We walk deep into the forest. I asked the pig king if I could carry a weapon of some sort, and he agreed because he said that I am "tiny man". So I fashioned a spear out of a sturdy branch, a sharp rock, and a crude piece of rope that I wove from grass. After I finished crafting the spear, I ran to catch up with Chip, who was leading this challenge for me on behalf of the pig king. I assumed the pig king could not be here because, well, I don't think he can move. The entire village was with Chip and I. They had looks of curiosity upon their faces. I wondered how I would fare with this challenge. They came along with Chip to grade me on how well I completed this challenge. I assumed I needed a near perfect score.

"Here," Chip says to me. "This is challenge." I peeked through the brush and saw silk, dirt, and rocks massed into one big clump. I examined it carefully and concluded that it was a spider nest. It was giant, being 7 feet tall and 7 feet large in diameter. Great, because I've had such awesome experiences with giant spiders before. Chip explains to me that I must destroy the spider nest, along with whatever horrors reside within it as well. Chip gives me a light push towards it, but he must have underestimated his strength because it caused me to stumble more than a little. I hold up my spear and then cautiously walk towards the nest. Spiders stream out in large numbers out of the nest and set their sights on me. I jump at the sight of them, but then I plant my feet firmly into the ground. I wait for them to make the first move. One of the spiders in front let out a ear piercing screech, and the fight was on. The first spider jumped at me and I sidestepped out of instinct and adrenaline. I wielded the spear with two hands and put all of my force behind the spear. With a sickening crunch, I delivered a kill blow to the middle of its forehead, the gooey substances in its body staining the spear. I forcefully dislodge the spear from its unmoving corpse and look up. There were still a large number of them left. They began to start gnashing and snapping at me in larger numbers, attacking as a cohesive unit. I was just trying to keep them from killing me, staying on the defensive. I had to think of a plan fast. In a desperate attempt to keep them away, I swiped my spear at their legs. I was exceedingly surprised to hear a few snaps reach my eardrums.

"That's it," I thought. "Their biological weakness. They have sturdy torsos, but their legs are very fragile." I exploited this weakness I discovered as soon as possible. Aiming for their legs, I stabbed, slashed, and stomped at them. I quickly crippled their numbers using my newfound knowledge. The spiders that were alive twitched upon the ground.

More spiders poured out of the nest, seeming to be in endless numbers. Wanting to finish this challenge before I ran out of energy, I sprinted as fast as I could to a nearby boulder next to the nest.

"I hope this works!" I yell out loud. I hit my spear on a large rock next to the nest in an attempt to create a spark. The first try failed. I looked up and saw the large army of spiders advancing rapidly. I hit the rock again, harder this time. It failed.

"Last shot," I say to myself. The spiders were a mere 10 yards away. This time, I hit even harder, and at an angle. A spark flies from the boulder, and hits my desired target. The silk seemed to be very flammable, and the entire nest was engulfed in flames in less than 5 seconds. The spiders feared the raging inferno, and they scattered from their previous home out into the forest . I watched the remaining spiders flee with a little bit of satisfaction. I collapsed on my back and drew breath heavily to recover.

A few minutes later, I caught my breath. Sadly, adrenaline can't last forever. The cuts and bruises I had were now evident, as they started to throb and sting. The pain wasn't agonizing, but it wasn't exactly a picnic either. Chip trotted over and gave me a hand up, with a big grin on his mouth.

"You pass!" he exclaimed, and he gave me a big hug.

"Urghclk," I gurgled out, trying to keep from passing out. His enthusiastic hug wasn't doing any favors for my sore body. After he let go, I regained my balance and footing. Chip looked away from me and directed his attention to the village.

"Is warrior?" he asked the entire village. There were a few quick murmurs, but then they escalated into tremendous shouts of recognition.

"We help!" they were all saying. I smiled and collapsed onto the charred ground. Again.

Chip agreed to give me a piggyback ride back to the village. Yes a piggyback ride, ha ha. Before we left the charred nest, the village scrounged up the remaining spiders to cook for tonight's meal. I actually looked forward to some boiled spider legs.

"We here," Chip said to me. I hopped off his back and followed everyone. We walked along the road that wound through the village and arrived at the feast table and arrived at the pig king. Chip strode towards the pig king and when he arrived he kneeled in respect then rose.

"Wilson pass," Chip said to the pig king, in a tone of upmost respect. "We help?" The pig king furrowed his brow and surveyed the village audience. A great many "hooves up" ( they lacked thumbs) and nods of agreement were found throughout the crowd. He gave a mild shrug and said, "Yes. Work next sun time."

The entire village slept until about noon, which was fine with me because I was extremely sore and fatigued. However, I was excited to get prepared to work on the machine, so I was able to work through the soreness. I scarfed down some slightly stale spider legs, and then assembled the village to tell them my plan.

The plan was simple. At least for me it was. I needed all the supplies that I had to build the original gate that I had made. The items consisted of sawed planks, sharp rocks, and other natural materials . These supplies may or may not work. They were only crude versions of the supplies I actually had when I was building the door. Chiseled rocks to make gears, sharp rocks for nails, etc. The most important ingredient however, was the wiring within the machine. Luckily, gold made an excellent conductor of electricity. The chunk of gold that I had in my pocket was extremely malleable, so I had more than enough wire to complete the machine. I guess gold wasn't so useless here.

This time, the machine only took about 4 and a half days to complete. I stood back and admired the powerful machine that I, along with some help, had created. This was it. My ticket back home. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the whole village. I almost had a crazy idea to stay with them, but I don't think it was meant to be. I turned to face Chip and said,

"Well, this is farewell Chip." Chip had a sad facial expression on his face. "Bye friend," he said. He waddled up and gave me a spine crushing hug. "Ack, that's good Chip, I'll miss you too. But I will need to walk when I get back," I choke out. He stepped back sheepishly and walked back to rejoin the village crowd. I looked back at the place I had called home. It was kinda sad. I waved back to Chip, and watched the farewells of the village I had come to know, with mixed emotions. Then I threw the switch, and my whole world turned upside down.

When the world quit spinning and the nausea passed, I found myself on my wooden floor back at my house. The ugly machine that I had created before was still in my living room. I eyed it with disgust, and pushed myself up off of the floor. I heard a clink come from the kitchen and then heard footsteps entering the living room.

Then I saw him. His same pale face and skinny limbs. The same protruding chin and dark tuxedo. He saw me, and he had a look of surprise on his face.

"You! How are you here? You're not supposed to be here!" he said, as his mouth curled into a frown.

I gave a smug look at him. I replied cooly, "You should've worked out the details." He had a look of pure malice on his face, displeased at my presence.

"Listen, we can't both be in this world. Charlie will not allow it." He took a sigh, and looked up at me. "I need more time here." The man said this slowly and deliberately. He almost looked like he was struggling with his conscience. His face was twitching oddly.

"One of us has to go back." His lip formed into a fierce snarl. "And It can't be me!" He charged at me and tackled me to the floor. His fist connected with my face, and I tasted blood in my mouth, as my neck twisted sideways. Still dazed, I managed to block the next of his punches with my forearm, and then I rolled defly to my right. I speedily got to my feet and brought my fists up to my face, like a professional boxer would. He was nimble, and we started to circle each other, trying to get a feel for each other's movements. He suddenly sprinted forward and made a grab for my head. Instinctually, I ducked and delivered a punch, which hit his throat. He retched and staggered backward. I took this moment to strike the back of his knee with my foot . He winced with pain and stumbled, but he recovered quickly. He sidestepped the second blow I attempted to apply to his ribcage. Despite the pain, he charged me again. We fell to the floor once more and we both struggled to gain the upperhand in this brawl. I started to lose focus in my eyes, and everything started to blur.

Suddenly, the lights went out and it was pitch black. An eerie purple light illuminated the room. I couldn't tell where the light was coming from. The stranger and I quit grappling. We stood up.

"Maxwell, you know you're not allowed to leave." The voice was high pitched and piercing, like a nail scraping across a chalkboard. It was calm and quiet, and sounded feminine. The voice caused some of my greatest fears to surface to the top of my thoughts. This voice seemed to instill fear into whoever hears it.

"Charlie, you can't do this to me." said Maxwell, his voice quivering with fright.

"Oh but I can, and I will. You must face judgement for what you did to me." The same dark hands that dragged me into the strange world headed for Maxwell. He quickly darted away from the shadow hands, and then headed towards the door. He wasn't fast enough. The hands snatched him by the legs. They started to slowly drag Maxwell down into the endless darkness of the floor. He screamed and clawed at the floor, but he could not prevail. He disappeared beneath the floorboards, and I assumed he wasn't in the basement.

"He never learns that he cannot escape my wrath. I hope you have a nice night, Mr. Higgsbury." The voice then gave an awful and dark laugh of satisfaction, and the room lit up with it's original candlelight.

I glanced outside and saw that it was nighttime. I collapsed in my chair, breathing heavily. Eventually, I calmed down enough to have my fears disappear into the labyrinth of my mind once again. I rubbed the bruises on my face, then closed my eyes. I opened them again. My vision was clear.

"Well, I guess that's it," I said to myself. I sat there for awhile just staring at the ceiling. Then I looked out the window. I saw a strange figure outside, and it looked back over its shoulder at me. I wasn't able to focus on it. My eyes spasmodically darted around the figure that I was trying to look at. I couldn't understand why my eyes wouldn't let me look directly at the strange figure outside. It was just a dark blob. With a red light enveloping it, the blob sunk through the forest floor outside my window. "Well, I guess that's it?"


	2. Chapter 2: Linked Pasts

_**Ne Fame Ex Animo: Lost Chapters**_

Okay, so maybe that's not how this saga in my life completely ended. At least, after I said that, I thought that it was over. So my mind was playing tricks on me. I had a rough day. That strange blob was just a figment of my imagination. The hands that dragged that man into the dark abyss was just a misinterpretation of my eyes. And that strange world I was in was just a dream.

Alright, so something strange happened to me. I mean, the proof is sitting right in front of me. That darn machine is still here, right in the middle of my living room. Looks just the same as I left it. I wonder how long I've been gone? Eh, couldn't have been more than a few days. I got up from my chair and headed to the kitchen to make myself a sandwich. Turkey, ham, and a few sprigs of lettuce and tomato on two whole wheat buns. Yum. I walked back into my living room and plopped back down onto my favorite, most comfortable chair. "Well, time for life to go back to normal," I say, then I take a big bite of my sandwich.

My upstairs door splits open, hinges flying, and it lands on the hardwood floor with a booming _CRACK_. The thunderous sound startles me, and I drop my sandwich and fall off my chair onto the floor.

"Here it is, the signal is strong!" says a voice. The voice sounded like an old lady with asthma. When I gathered myself up from off the floor, I was surprised to see a group of people standing in my living room.

"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!" I yell at them, "YOU JUST KICKED IN MY DOOR!"

"Oh calm yourself," says someone from the group. "We'll explain everything shortly." It was the same old lady voice that I heard. And, coincidently, it was an old lady. She was short and had a few wrinkles scattered upon her face. She was, oh I don't know, 70? She had a pair of thin square glasses, and she was dressed like, I guess one of your average librarians I suppose. A bit stereotypical, but that's the best way I can describe her. She had a strange device in her hand. It had bolts and screws all over it and it was entirely made from some kind of polished wood.

She walked past me and went to examine the machine that I had created. Everyone else followed suit and followed her to the machine. She walked over to the machine and looked at it from a bunch of different angles. I continued to awkwardly stand by while the others were looking at the machine. The librarian lady finally just nodded her head, and then turned to me.

"Yes, this is it," said the librarian, "the same machine we all went through. This young gentlemen must have fallen for it too." Other people built this thing? At least I have other gullible people to sympathize with.

"Terribly sorry for the rude entrance. We couldn't take any chances this time," she said. "Let's get the pleasantries out of the way. My name is Miss Wickerbottom. These folks and I have fallen into the same trap as you. Trapped by an odd fellow who sports a tuxedo. Obviously, we have all escaped just as you have. This is Willow, Wendy, Wolfgang, and Woodie," she said, gesturing to all of them in order.

I loosely observed the people that she was pointing to. Willow was a young girl who looked to be in her late 20's or so, I guess. She had dark brown hair and light brown eyes. She wasn't short, but she wasn't tall either. She had a lighter in her hand, and she absent-mindedly flickered it on and off in a habitual manner. She had a thin body and face. She wore a black skirt and a dark red button up shirt. She glanced at me for a moment. Our eyes connected and she stared at me intently. Then she went back to staring at the flame of the lighter. Well, that was a first impression.

Wendy looked to be about 14 or 15 years old, but I'm not good with guessing ages. She was just a little bit shorter than Willow. She had blonde, curly hair and pale white skin. She stood in a reserved manner, quiet and keeping to herself. She wore a blue skirt that went to her ankles. A red flower was tucked neatly in her hair. She had deep blue eyes that acted like they were the walls that hide what she was really thinking. I couldn't decipher what she was feeling. She had an almost blank expression, like she was a person watching a movie. Like she wasn't really there.

The next person was Wolfgang. He was a very tall man that had thick arms and legs. He was carrying a bit of weight on him, but his build was still very muscular. He had a mustache that curved in a half circular way. His eyes were a dark brown, and had a weathered look to them. The mustache reminded me of the kind that my barber had. His head was big and almost blocky, but the rest of his facial features seemed to be proportional. He had thick wavy black hair that was trimmed kind of short. He was wearing a tank top that had red and white stripes, and he wore a pair of black slacks. He had a slight frown. You couldn't tell if you didn't look hard enough. I think that's just his regular face though.

Lastly, I looked over at Woodie. He had a big red beard and wore a checkered green and black shirt. His hair was a dark red and all his facial hair was ragged. His hands had a layer of dirt on them. At closer inspection, I saw that his palms and fingers had rough calluses all over them. He had light green eyes and had a few freckles on his face. He looked to be a woodsman. He had a semi-large hatchet that was attached to the side of his leg, strapped on by a piece of leather.

"Okay, um, Miss Wickerbottom, tell me why you all came here," I say.

*Authors Note* 1 Chapter per week at minimum. -Luke


	3. Chapter 3: Back to the New World

"As I've mentioned before, we have fallen into the same trap as you," Wickerbottom starts. "We have all escaped, and we want to figure out why we were brought to that strange world. In every single one of our cases, this man…"

"Maxwell," I interject. "This strange voice, apparently by the name of Charlie, called him by that name."

"Well then. We want to figure out why this "Maxwell" imprisoned us. In every recount of our stories, after we manage to escape, a strange voice summons these strange shadows that whisk this man back to who knows where. He has also mentioned how he needs more time, according to all our personal encounters."

"Same here," I reply. "He said that he needed more time in this world."

"That's why we're going back," said Willow. Her voice was dark and low. She broke the concentration that she had on the flame. "We have to tie up some loose ends with this "Maxwell" guy. Get some answers."

"He can't jus' spect' us to take this lyin' down, eh?" added Woodie.

"Same idea here," stated Wolfgang. He had a very thick accent. If I was a betting man, I'd say it was Russian, or German. "I'll show what strength I have." He cracked his fists in a menacing manner.

Umm, going back? Are they daft!? I barely survived the starvation, the deadly spiders, and the creepy cold nights. Only a person who has a deathwish would go back to that unpredictable place.

I pondered the idea for awhile. The memory of the dark blob outside my window reentered my thoughts. I wasn't able to look directly at it, no matter how hard I concentrated. What was that? Was that Charlie? Or maybe some kind of creature, with a special line of inherited traits? What was the origin of that mysterious blob? Sometimes, I really hate being the curious scientist-guy. I guess I'm daft and I have a deathwish.

I give a low audible sigh. Then I say aloud to the group, "Count me in, let's go get some answers."

I become nervous as I approach the machine. The same uneasy feeling that I had the first time I was at this door comes to me. Deja vu.

"Ready?" I ask everyone. They all give me a slight nod. I yank the switch and everything is dark.

When the trip, the teleport, whatever it was, was done, it felt like my brain was microwaved on the high setting. I had a splitting headache. It went away faster than I expected though, and I stood up and saw everyone picking themselves up off the floor. It looked like they had some side effects from the travel as well.

"Well there isn't time to lollygag, let's get moving," said Wickerbottom, adjusting her glasses.

Being back in this world reminded me of my good friend Chip. I wonder where he is? I look around and take note of my environment. Wait, this place looks kind of familiar. There's that pond I used to get water from. I remember because the pond wasn't that far from the village. If I'm close to the village, then I'm also close to...

"FRIEND!" I see Chip charging at me at blazing speed. I only have time to think, "Oh crud." I'm hit full force by my enthusiastic friend, and I stagger backwards into his bear hug.

"Chip, hey," I say to him, "you think you could stop crushing my internal organs?" He looked at me for a moment, and then realized that he was crushing me.

"Sorry friend," he says to me apologetically, stepping backwards, "am excited to see you."

"I see you made a friend," acknowledged Willow.

I introduced Chip to everyone. He seemed to be pretty excited to meet other people. I explained to Chip that we didn't have the time to stop by the village, but I had to promise that I would return before he would let me leave. He said okay. He ran back along the path that lead towards the village. He glanced back once while he was running.

A piercing sound goes off and I jump and cover my ears in response.

"We're close," says Wickerbottom, "the box is detecting some kind of electromagnetic field within 5000 feet."

"I wondered what that thing did," I said, regaining my stance. "So, we follow wherever it points?"

"Precisely."

The trek to the mysterious area that the box was leading us to was long and hot. The sun beat down heavily on us. Sweat trickled down my neck, and I felt my throat start to become dry. I seemed to be the only person having troubles with the heat, but perhaps I wasn't paying attention to anyone else due to my stupid heatstroke. After 30 minutes of trekking through the rough forest terrain, we stumbled upon a strange checkered area with a giant hole in the middle.

"We're here," said Wendy, with a quiet and timid voice. It was the first time I had heard her speak. Her voice was so soft and smooth. And I don't know if it was my imagination or not, but when she spoke, her voice had no emotion behind it. She sounded like a broken person. I wonder what it took to make her that way.

The area was constructed out of stone slabs arranged in a checkerboard pattern. There were giant pillars that seemed to have been constructed by just sprouting out of the ground. Each pillar had detailed works etched onto them. They were impressively done, a work of art inscribed on each of the them. I wonder whom, or what, created these oddities?

"Uh oh, company!" yelled Wolfgang. He pointed to the piles of scrap metal that were rattling. The old, rusty pieces of gears and alloy casting seemed to come to life, turning from heaps of scrap metal to working automatons. How did I miss those suspicious piles of machinery? Oh yeah, the interesting inscriptions.

The soulless automatons approached us with malicious intent. They were familiar to me. One of them almost looked like a Bishop chess piece. Another reminded me of a Rook.

"We dun gonn' get ripped up by 'em!" Woodie exclaimed.

"We need to crush," Wolfgang said, picking up a fairly large log. "Let me take them."

Wolfgang didn't wait for anyone's permission. He charged into the crowd of them. Clangs and crunches filled the air. He swung with great force and caused deep dents and gashes into the machines. The machines didn't know what hit them. The machines frantically tried to try to swarm Wolfgang, but Wolfgang must have had military training or something, because they couldn't touch him. One of the automatons in the back of the amassed army seemed to have a light glowing on its head. I suddenly realized what was happening.

"WOLFGANG!" I yelled. "Get back! It's going to shoot something!" Wolfgang glanced briefly back at me, and then at the automaton. It had static electricity charging and condensing into a small sphere on its forehead. He wasn't able to react in time. A bolt of electricity arced forth from the bulb. The lightning bolt struck him square in the chest and he flew backwards at a blinding speed. He rolled several yards, and then he laid still. The army wasn't even close to losing half of their numbers.

"Wolfgang!" I yelled. I looked as his unmoving body. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone moving towards him.

"I've got 'im! I'm movin' 'im over here!" Woodie said, slinging Wolfgang over his shoulder, while deftly dodging his foes. He swiftly carried him to the edge of the forest where we all were. We all looked at the hopeless situation before us; an army of merciless automatons.

"There's no point in staying," said Willow urgently, "we have to run." I pondered the thought. It seemed like the only safe and viable plan of action. I guess we could just run back, go back through the door. Pretend none of this ever happened. But I can't forget what I saw. I need to know.

"They have to have some kind of weakness," I thought. "Everything has a weakness. I just have to think harder." The army continued advancing towards us with slight caution, as Wolfgang had disarrayed their formation. I inspected each one individually, trying to pick out every major part of their structure. Thick, heavy metal that would be hard to pierce. They could be running on electricity, that would explain the static energy that was shot. A wireless generator, a tesla coil of some sort, something could be powering them. A tesla coil seemed plausible, as I couldn't seem to locate any kind of battery strapped to them. They stopped advancing towards us and stopped at the edge of where the grass and the stone met.

"They can't leave that area, the thing that powers them must have a range," I think to myself. My brain starts whirring to find an answer to this problem. The box. It sensed where these electromagnetic pulses were coming from. Maybe it can destroy them too.

"Wickerbottom," I say quickly, "give me the box, thing, whatever it is."

"What do you think you're going to do?" she said, but by then I had already snatched the box from her. I took off in a dead sprint towards the machines.

"Get back, that's suicide!" Wendy screamed out. When she spoke this time, I could hear the emotion in her voice. But I didn't really listen. I was running right into the eye of the storm.

The automatons starting to chase and swarm around me, like an angry pack of wolves. "Where, where is it!? I've got to find where the heck that stupid generator is!" I rapidly thought aloud. They kept closing in faster. A bolt of electricity struck near my foot. I only had maybe a five yard lead, and they were faster than me. Before I even realize it, I'm stuck between a large pillar and a swarming robotic army of death. In a split instant, I make a possibly foolish mistake. I throw down the box as hard as I can. It shatters with a powerful explosion, and I go flying upwards like a ragdoll. My world flashes in and out, between clear vision and dark black. I'm still falling as I give in to unconsciousness.

*Authors Note* Reviews are appreciated, I like to hear my successes and failures. -Luke


	4. Chapter 4: Beginning of An End

I wake up feeling nauseous, along with a painful feeling in my head. I'm alone. No one is around. Just me, some sunshine, and this canteen of water. Wait, canteen of water? I blink my eyes rapidly and allow my vision to focus.

"Drink," Wendy says to me. "You must be parched." She is holding out a canteen for me to take. I sit up and take the canteen from her. I gratefully gulp down the cold, stagnant water from the canteen. I'm not done drinking until the entire canteen is empty. I try to stand up to work the kinks out of my back, but I realize that my back is flaring with pain. I slowly push myself up to a sitting position. I then stood up with the aid of a nearby tree. The idea of a broken back stood out to me. But since I could stand, I went with badly bruised back. Besides that and a few painful electrical burns, I guess I could still walk. Normally my luck doesn't hold up like this. With my luck, I normally would've landed into a nearby active volcano.

"Along with the destruction of my device, which took a whole six months just to prototype," Wickerbottom begins, giving me the evil eye. "you still, however, managed to disable all the automatons. The electric pulse given off from my device being smashed managed to shut them down. Anyhow, we are ready to continue whenever you feel well enough."

"Wait where's Wolfgang?" I say with concern. No one says a word. " Where is he?!" I say, a bit too loudly. Everyone is still quiet. They avoid eye contact with me.

"He is n' bad shape." Woodie says quietly. We all stand quietly in silence. It's an uncomfortable and unsettling silence.

"It takes more than pathetic magic trick to kill me." We all turn to face the voice. It's Wolfgang! He wobbled up the hill, supporting himself with a thick branch. The branch worked as a makeshift walking cane. He breathed heavily and his face was beaded with faint perspiration. His shirt was burst open, with a bad burn going down the middle of his chest.

"If Wolfgang is all right, I'm ready right now!" I say enthusiastically. "Let's get going!" I start moving towards the center of the slabs at a brisk pace, minding my injuries of course. I get there before everyone else. I examine the peculiar object that we would use to go, well, wherever the heck it decided to send us. It was a dark and endless-looking hole in the ground. It gave off a strange, and frankly disturbing, buzzing sound. It pulsated every once in awhile. Is it a wormhole? Wormholes were just a scientific theory, no one has ever seen one, much less created one. This world must have a completely different set of laws of physics.

When everyone got there, we all seemed to have second thoughts about jumping inside the wormhole.

"See you wusses on other side!" yelled Wolfgang, as he jumped in headfirst. Typical Wolfgang. I shake my head, and then I jump in after him. My world draws a blank, and I only see darkness. I am getting really tired of blacking out.

When I manage to gather myself up, I see that everyone made it through safely. Wolfgang didn't have that branch anymore. He seemed to have slight trouble standing up, but he was able to cope with it. Weirdly, I felt better too. My back was a lot better, and my burns were now numb.

"The wormhole made a bend in time," Wickerbottom said, almost in awe. "We all aged by a few days. I assume you and Wolfgang are feeling better?"

Wolfgang and I both nodded. We were both walking like normal. I guess our bodies had a few days worth of rest in a matter of minutes. And oddly enough, I didn't feel hungry at all. Even though we aged a few days, how did we not lose any calories? I don't think if I had two lifetimes I could figure out how this new dimension functioned. I suppose I'll have to be okay with that.

"I knew it was only a matter of time." The voice was croaky and silent. The voice sounded familiar to me. I looked in the direction of the voice. It's him.

"Well, what a coincidence. It's my good friend Maxwell," I say, a bit sarcastically. I look over at him and I'm genuinely surprised. The man I'm looking at can't be Maxwell. He looks to be 50 or 60 years old. The Maxwell I saw was in his mid 30's. He's sitting down in a chair, his arms restrained by weird shadows.

"Life give you a good whirl Maxwell? You don't look like you're doin' so well," I voiced aloud arrogantly.

Maxwell looked up from the floor. I study his face for a few moments. It doesn't hold anger, malice, or even any kind of ambition. It just held, sadness. Loss. All of a sudden, I feel bad for the guy. The same guy who imprisoned me in this world, the world full of danger and confusion. The same guy who I grappled with violently in my house. But the emotion of tragedy on his face seemed too real to be fake. I look around at the others. I can't read what they're thinking.

"I cannot excuse my actions," Maxwell starts. "I have wronged all of you. But I chose each of you to be the catalyst for my atonement because I knew of your strengths. However, I have dabbled where man shouldn't. And in my foolish ambition and arrogance, I have doomed all. As well, I thought that if I had enough time, I could stop what I had begun. Yet now, I see that there is no way. Perhaps it was fate, but that is the way of pardoning a man's actions without reprimandation." He looked at us all with a strange facial expression. "Excuse my ramblings, but I thought I may as well say my final words."

"Final words?" Willow says.

"Yes. As I have failed, and I could not stop the resurrection of the Codex Umbra. The darkness of that book has seeped into me, and I must extinguish that darkness with my death. Go, leave me here. I am only the hollow shell of a man that once was."

What happened next surprised me. Wolfgang walked up to Maxwell. He looked him straight in the eyes. He then punched him in the face. Maxwell coughed as blood dripped from his mouth.

"Wolfgang! What are you doing!?" I yell at him. I run up to pull him away. He pushes me back and then focuses his attention on Maxwell.

"You give up on life. You say you can't live with guilt." His accent thickens. "There is no point in throwing away life for simple sake of guilt. If one failure stops man from moving, he is a coward. Live to stop guilt." Maxwell stares ahead. He seems perplexed.

Maxwell looked back at Wolfgang, with blood dripping down his chin. "But why do you forgive me?" Wolfgang looked off into the dark sky. "Everyone has regret. That is why I do." Wolfgang walked closer to Maxwell and inspected the dark binds on his wrists. I walk up and join him. I look back at the others. They all stand there, with conflicting emotions I'm sure. Silence, except for the moaning wind, envelops us.

"Well, I don't know all the reasons why we went through all this," Willow said, breaking the silence, "but there's gotta be a reason." She glances back at the rest, and then at me. "Well, what now Wilson?" Everyone stares at me. I feel uncomfortable. "Uh, well," I clear my throat. "I say we free him so we can get him to stop speaking in riddles, and understand this threat he's talking about."

"Well I am interested about the Codex Umbra." Wickerbottom says. "As well as the impending 'doom' he speaks of." Wendy and Woodie gave their consent to free the man without much protest. We spend the next ten minutes or so formulating a plan to remove the shadow bindings. After Wolfgang tried to remove the restraints with brute force and failed, Wendy chimed in with her idea.

"I know this sounds stupid, but, could light free him?" Wendy said hesitantly.

"That's good thinking Wendy," I tell her. "Say Willow, try using your lighter near his binds."

"I might burn him, but I guess that's a chance I'll have to take." She says this with a mock grin. I think she said that with a bit too much delight.

She flicks the lighter on and moves it towards Maxwell's bindings. Maxwell had a look of nervousness on his face, and he fidgeted slightly. As the flame moves closer, the shadows start to dissipate. She successfully freed one arm, and then started to work on the next. In a short time, Maxwell was free.

"Those bindings hurt my wrists more than last time," Maxwell says, rubbing his wrists. "Thank you for giving me a chance to redeem myself. I'll be sure to," he looks in my direction, "'not speak in riddles', and explain my actions." Everyone seemed to have gotten over their anger towards Maxwell, and we were all standing about, more or less, content. But of course, nothing is easy, simple, or safe for me. A thundering explosion marks the dark sky, and we all hit the deck.

"Well, what have we here?" It's Charlie.


	5. Chapter 5: Escape from Evil

The moment I heard the voice, I knew that it was her. The same voice now is just as frightful and evil sounding as the last time I heard it. "Someone freeing this demon? This is something I haven't anticipated." Charlie sounded amused. By now, everyone had stood up and spotted where the voice was coming from. I stood there and stared at the form of Charlie in disbelief. It was a humanoid shadow figure. It had slender arms with three distinct sharp claws on the hands. The eyes were a piercing blood red, and the mouth had pitch-black smoke emitting from it . The legs on which she stood were like octopus tentacles, 7 of them, all sprawled out. Charlie stood at least nine feet tall, and she had this unnatural dark aura emanating forth from her. "Well Maxie, are you trying to escape again?" She sounded as if she were scolding a child. "I need you to stay in that chair. Otherwise, how will I bring about the new world?"

New world? What the heck is she talking about? Is Charlie what caused Maxwell to risk our lives, in order to stop? Simply being in her presence caused my fears to arise. I felt like having a panic attack.

"Charlie, surely you don't mean to destroy Earth." Charlie suddenly cackled with a devilish laugh, pointing a crooked claw at Maxwell.

"Earth? You mean the place where wars and disease abound? The place that rejected us?" Charlie stopped pacing and stood still for a moment. She swiped her hand through the air, like she was smacking someone. "It should be wiped clean. I'm doing the world a favor. Soon, the world will start anew, a place where we can be accepted." She looked at Maxwell with unwavering eyes. "Don't you want a place to be accepted?"

Maxwell stood in silence, and avoided Charlie's gaze. "You are not human anymore Charlie. I thought I could save you, but I should have accepted the truth." Maxwell stated this in a somber tone. "Because of my attachments, I have risked the world further. I will do what needs to be done. Just, if any part of you is left, my dear, I want you to know that I loved you."

"You never cared for me. Look what you did to me!" She made a grand gesture of pointing to herself. She seemed to have lost her composure for a moment, but then she calmed herself. "But none of that is important," she continued, with a relaxed voice, "because now, I will not let you escape again. The world shall be purged."

"Hey! The wormhole is open! Come on, now's our chance!" Willow yells to us from the wormhole, pointing at it. Maxwell gave one last look of sorrow, and then he turned abruptly and sprinted towards the wormhole.

"Come on, run!" I yell. Along with everyone else, I bolted backwards and ran towards the exit. Charlie screeched a horrible scream, a scream that a banshee from a nightmare might. She floated off the ground and moved towards us at an unnatural rate. Her screams pierced my ears and caused my head to pound. My ears started to ring. I pumped my arms as fast as I could and raced forward. I dared to take a glance backwards at her. Suddenly, I tripped, and subsequently bashed my forehead on the floor. The breath was knocked out of me. With the world spinning, I looked at the wormhole. I saw Wendy hop in. Then Wolfgang. Then Woodie and Wickerbottom, and then Maxwell.

"At least they all escaped," I think to myself. I sit up and wince. I stare ahead at the she-devil racing towards me. It's funny, because I should probably be trying to scramble to my feet and run away. But instead, I just sit there and stare ahead into space like an idiot. It felt dream-like. "Am I ready to die?" I think to myself. "Well, I guess no one is really ready to die." I see Charlie begin to loom over me. "Well, at least I don't have to stand up for my execution." I close my eyes and flinch, but then I realized that I was not being thrashed to death. I opened my eyes. Charlie was holding her side and had smoke bellowing forth from her wound. She staggered and stumbled backwards while giving out a bone chilling cry. "Insolent mortal! You dare touch me?! I will have your soul!"

I was then being dragged by my hand towards the wormhole, but I don't remember getting to my feet. "Come on Wilson, do I look like a bodybuilder? Move your feet!" It was Willow. I shook my head to clear the blurriness of my vision, and started to run towards the wormhole with Willow. Charlie was just a few feet behind us. Still holding hands, we made a mad dash towards our escape point. Just as I thought we were about to be clawed in half, we managed to reach the wormhole. I felt my body warp and get sucked through. As darkness overtook me, I saw Willow's face.

When I awoke, I felt something below me. I open my eyes and look down. It's Willow. Her eyes open. We stare into each other's eyes for a long moment.

"Er, if you two, need a moment…" Wendy called out shyly. I realize that I am crushing Willow. With my body. Closely. Willow seems to come to this realization right as I do. Her face blushed red.

"Get off me before I burn you!" she shouted. She pushed me away and stood up. I got myself up off the ground as well. "And that's not a funny joke Wendy," she said, brushing the dust off from her skirt.

"It wasn't meant as a joke," Wendy replied simply. Willow looked at me with eyes full of a great deal of spite. Hey if I had a choice, I would have chosen a different spot to be then on top of that crazy lady.

"All matters aside," Wickerbottom says, clearing her throat, "we need to find a suitable shelter for the night." Finally, the voice of reason.

"Yes, I couldn't agree more," I reply quickly, "let's go find Chip." I glance around. It appears to be dusk. "I bet we can still make it in time for dinner."


	6. Chapter 6: Reunion

With a photographic memory, I lead our party around until we arrived at the road that I knew connected with Chip's village. We walked along the cobble road in silence.

"It seems that I am tied back to the physical plane."It was Maxwell's voice, but it wasn't weak like how we heard him when he was trapped in the chair. He sounded like he was back in his mid 30's. As if we were all following a signal, we turned and faced him at roughly the same time. Sure enough, Maxwell was back to being thirty-ish.

"What? How did you reverse your age?!" I asked him. Everyone staring at Maxwell had the same surprised look that I must have had on my face.

"It is not my age that has been reversed. Allow me to explain." We continued walking along the path that lead towards the village at a comfortable pace.

"When I was in the realm of," he choked a bit on the next word, "Charlie, I was approaching my death. The shadows that I was restrained by did more than keep me from moving." He wrung his hands in an anxious manner. "The shadows were separating me from my mortal body."

"Sounds like something from a fiction novel," Wickerbottom said disbelievingly.

"I did not expect you to believe me. Though I thought the evident change in my physical appearance would suffice as evidence." He pointed to himself. "Since I am no longer in the realm of Charlie, I am back to being my original age. The older version of me that you saw was simply an interpretation for your eyes, to gauge the distance of my body to my psyche. An illusion, you could say."

"Why does Charlie want you separated from your mortal body?" Wendy asked, with a curious face.

"The incarnation of the Codex Umbra needs a person with a specific bloodline in order to have its full power. The person the Codex controls now does not have the bloodline it needs. But I have the bloodline it needs to remove its worldly limitations." Maxwell looked at us with a gaze of unease. "If the Codex controlled my body, it would have unimaginable power. Charlie, as of now, does not even have half the strength foretold in this book if she had the bloodline coveted by the Codex." Maxwell brought out a small purple book from his coat pocket. It had a strange insignia on the cover, and had an eerie purple glow to the pages. Maxwell put the book carefully back into his pocket.

"When I imprisoned you in this world," Maxwell continued, "I did not do so without cause. I escaped my shadow bindings by using an incantation from this book. It allowed me to switch dimensions with whoever I chose, as long as they constructed a specific structure. With the time I spent in the real world, I was able to translate thirty of the fifty pages of the Codex Umbra," He pocketed the book into his coat, "but I have yet to find a way to stop the evil I have resurrected."

"So in summary, you trapped us in this world so you could study your 'magic' book so you could try to find a way to stop the evil that was released from said book?" said Willow.

"In a word, yes." he replied. "The spirit of this book, the Codex Umbra, has possessed someone I knew personally. It is my fault for the way that Charlie is now."

"So you knew Charlie before she was possessed?" I questioned. "How did the book do that to her?" Maxwell stopped walking. He remained silent. Then he spoke in a quiet and crestfallen tone.

"I will give you whatever details you want to know another time." He continued walking, but he covered his face slightly with his coat and stared straight ahead. I guess he didn't feel like sharing that experience at the moment.

We continued walking along until we saw a faint light, indicating that we made it to the village. Weary and exhausted from our travels, we limped forward until we were finally there. When we arrived at the village square, I noticed that the pig village was in the middle of a grand feast. Business as usual I suppose. They didn't seem to have noticed us yet, so I decided to announce our presence.

"Um, hey." The pig villagers looked up from their plates and the conversation lightly died down. The pig villagers recognized me, but they shot looks of interest at the rest of our group.

"Wilson back!" Chip said gleefully. He ran up to me with a big grin beaming on his face. The village was in a slight disarray, and other pig villagers started to approach us as well. Scattered voices about our arrival was in the air.

Chip faced the pig king, and he spoke to him in a tone of utmost respect. "Wilson back king," he said, "and brought more people." The pig king furrowed his brow, and squinted at our group. But then his face broke into a smile.

"Friend of Wilson is friend of village," he said welcomingly. "Come, enjoy feast. Tell us of travels." I gave a slight bow and gratefully thanked the pig king for his invitation. Walking through the interested crowd of villagers, we took our places in the empty seats at the grand dining table. The dining table was just as I remembered it, but I seemed to have forgotten how many it could accommodate. It impressively seated all of us and about forty other pig-men.

It seemed that everyone got along fine with the residents of the pig village. Wolfgang devoured most of the meat-related foods first. He also got into an arm wrestling contest with one of the villagers. Even Wendy acted a bit social, although the pigs did most of the talking. She mostly just nodded her head. Woodie took to eating the "appetizers" as the main course of his meal. The appetizers consisted of assorted bug related items. He said that I should eat some more bugs, that I needed the protein. I declined, closing my mouth and trying to forget the last time I had bugs. Wickerbottom gave herself the impossible task of trying to teach the pigs grammar. I chuckled inwardly at the thought.

"No, no, no!" Wickerbottom said in frustration. "Repeat after me. My name is Hamilton." The pig that she spoke to moved his head to his right and stretched his neck.

"Um, name Hamilton?" he replied unsurely. Wickerbottom put her hand to her face and shook her head a little. Yep, she'll find out soon enough that grammar for these pigs is impossible.

One of the pigs poked Willow in the shoulder with his hoof. In a flash, she had her lighter out and she held it up to his face. The pig squealed and ran off and joined another group of villagers.

"With your caring attitude, I don't see how you aren't making friends," I say to Willow with a sarcastic attitude. I had a smirk fixed on my face, and I couldn't help but let a laugh escape out of my mouth.

"Oh just shut up Wilson," she replied to me with distaste, "I don't need someone to ridicule me." I sat beside her nevertheless, and I spread some kind of berry preservative onto some kind of meat set on my plate. She was eating some of the vegetables set out on the table, and she drank from the canteen. The pig king seemed to enjoy our company, and the village center was full of excitement. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, even Willow after a while. Except for Maxwell.

He ate his food plainly and spoke to no one. He had a dull atmosphere to him. When he finished eating, he brought out that weird purple book, the Codex Umbra. He studied it intently. The pigs tried to be friendly to him, but he looked like he didn't have a yearning for company as of the time being, so they let him be.

"Great warrior Wilson, is good for you be back," said the pig king. He sounded like he was speaking to me with high esteem. Willow raised an eyebrow at me. I shrugged back at her. I told the pig king that it was good to be back. One of the pig villagers struck up a conversation with the king. He completely forgot about me. I guess that's all the praise I need from the king.

I saw Chip make his way over to where I was. He took a seat next to me.

"You gone for long time." His statement surprised me. Now that I think about it, how long has it been since I saw Chip?

"How long have I been gone, Chip?" I reply, not taking my eyes off of my meal. I was still starving.

"Four and half sun-moons," he said. "Village worry you not live." Four and a half sun-moons? Oh, I guess sun-moon must mean day. Four days huh? I guess there really was a bend in time.

The great feast started to come to a close. It was night time, maybe seven o' clock if I could place a guess. The one pig called Hamilton jogged over and set fire to a tee-pee constructed of grass. Oh, it's a bonfire. The bonfire burnt quickly and brightly, illuminating a large portion of the village. These guys figured out fire?

Another thirty minutes dragged on, and it appeared that everyone was ready to get some shut eye. The bonfire seemed to be getting low. And turning purple.

"Purple?" I mumble to myself. I look around. No one has noticed the purple flame forming at the base of the fire. Maybe it's completely normal. I get the pig king's attention. He gives me a loud grunt. I took it I had his attention. I asked him if the bonfire flames were supposed to be purple. He said no. In that moment, the flames turned completely purple and shot up violently into the air. A huge whoosh erupted from it. Through the black smoke, a figure was outlined.

"Well, it seems everyone has made nice with the wild life..."


	7. Chapter 7: Perfect Offer

Of course Charlie was able to track us down and then manifest herself into a nearby campfire next to us. I expected nothing less. The black smoke faded into the air, and left behind the fear-inspiring form of Charlie. She was just the same as I had seen her before; Shadowy form, three sharp claws on each hand. I felt the same nerve racking effect just as I had every other time I had been in her presence. I don't know if it is some kind of magic, or if she is truly just that frightening.

The pig villagers were frightened by her. Most of the villagers hid behind the grand dining table, and some even fled back to their homes. This was the first time I saw the pig king in fear. He had no control over his subjects. After the village took cover, they all watched the scene unfold, remaining dead silent doing so.

With the commotion going on, Maxwell looked up from the Codex Umbra. When his eyes fell upon the form of Charlie, he was shocked for a moment. But then he calmly set down his book. He walked up and stood in front of her, staring into her eyes.

"Charlotte." He said this with a cruel and indifferent voice.

"Oh Maxwell," Charlie said, with her arms open, "there's no need to be so formal. Why, we used to be friends." Her mouth expanded into an unnaturally wide smile. "Really good friends."

"That was the past," Maxwell replied, keeping the humourless tone of his voice steady. "You are corrupt now." He glared with a steely glint of determination in his eyes. "I will destroy you so you may rest in peace."

"You're always so serious Maxwell," Charlie complained. She isn't taking a death threat very seriously. Clearly this 'villain' is off her rocker. Or whatever is possessing her is.

"But whatever. On to business then," she continued nonchalantly.

"What do you want, eh?" Woodie asked, holding out his axe in an aggressive manner.

"Oh please, you can't hurt me with that," she said with a condescending tone. "This isn't my physical form, this is a projection. And what I want is what you took from me." She threw a glance over at Maxwell. "I want Maxwell."

"If you can appear inside fire out of thin air, why don't you just kidnap Maxwell from there?" I asked.

"If that were possible, I would have already taken him," she replied to me. "Unfortunately in this world, I can only interact with objects shrouded in pure darkness." She gave an unpleasant sounding laugh. "So I came here to make you an offer in exchange for Maxwell."

"You think we'll just hand him over?" Willow said to her. "Even if he did trap us, he had a decent cause."

"Just hear out my offer," Charlie said unflustered. "For I know your deepest desires." She looked away from Willow and focused her attention on me. I didn't expect her to address me directly. "Wilson, what you want most is wealth. Align with the new world I'm making, and you shall be rich beyond comprehension." Either she read my mind, or I am that readable. I do love wealth.

She turned to address Wolfgang. "Wolfgang, what you wish for is strength. Join me, and I will give you immeasurable power." Wolfgang seemed to be just as tempted as me with her offer. Charlie moved her body to face Wendy.

"Oh Wendy." Charlie had her hand on her heart. "I feel your pain." She said this with heartbrokenness, but to me it sounded ungenuine. "Help me create the new world, and I can give your sister back to you." Wendy was unfeeling. As far as I could tell, Wendy's expression was no different than if she were offered a clump of dirt.

"Miss Wickerbottom." Her voice seemed to take on a more sophisticated tone. "What you crave is knowledge. Assist the creation of the new world, and I will grant you knowledge lost throughout the thousands of years of existence." Wickerbottom adjusted her glasses and shifted her weight onto her right foot.

"Woodie." Her piercing red eyes stared unblinkingly at Woodie. "Such a tragedy that happened to you. But if you help me, I'll help you. With the creation of the new world, I can break your curse." Woodie's grip loosened on the axe, and he held the axe limply at his side. He glanced up at the night sky in remembrance, and then scratched behind his head with his free hand.

"And last, and maybe least, Willow." She said this like she was telling a joke. Willow glared back with her arms crossed in a defiant manner. "What you desire actually surprises me. What you want is to not lose any more people you feel close to. How touching." She said this with mockery while grinning. Willow's face sunk into a frown. "Lend yourself to the foundation of the perfect world, and I promise, that anything and anyone you hold dear, will be safe under my power." Willow's expression softened. She looked like she was in deep thought.

"All of this, and I only ask of you one simple task." She paused her speech. Then she pointed in the direction of the night. "Push Maxwell into the darkness so I can retrieve him. And then once I control this man, then I will be bound to my words, and grant you everything I have promised." Charlie scanned our group with detailed driven eyes. "Well how's that for an offer?"

I was stunned at the proposal she made us. Richer than what I can comprehend? That's a hefty promise. But is the new world she claims be truly perfect? I shot a look at Maxwell. He looked around shiftily, but he stood still.

Surprisingly, Wendy who is normally so quiet, gave a reply to Charlie first.

"You say you can give me my sister back, just the way she was?"

"Yes, just how she was. Before she died," Charlie said back to Wendy.

"I don't believe you." Charlie was taken aback by this response. "Even if you could bring her back, it wouldn't be the same. She died when she was supposed to, even if it was a random illness. She is resting now, wherever she is. I don't want to disturb her from that rest, and an illusion of her won't make me feel any better. I accept her death, and I won't kill a person just to have that fake happiness. I won't do it."

Wolfgang spoke his thoughts aloud. "I do not need help to be strong. I will never be strong enough anyhow. I will not do it."

Wickerbottom gave her response. "Though the knowledge of the ancient past intrigues me, the ends do not justify the means. I refuse your offer."

Woodie did a fancy spin with his axe, and then put it back into its holster. "I may have a curse, but I'm not going to make another man suffer just because I want a cure, eh? I can live with a curse, but I can't live with a lad's death on me. Keep yer' magic to yerself."

Willow decided to step in and say something. She was flickering her lighter on and off in her right hand. "A tempting offer, but I'll have to pass. I can protect what I want without your help."

Charlie looked at me. She didn't look defeated yet. But why? Everyone was rejecting her offer, not pledging their allegiance to the new world. I came to a realization. Everyone but me.

"Wilson, you do not need to reject true satisfaction like these fools," Charlie said to me with a crackly voice. "Join my cause. Take vengeance on the man who made you suffer so. Be the champion of the new world, a world void of the weak. Let's destroy the old unclean world and construct a new, unspoiled world." She extended her hand out to me, like we were making a deal. I don't know what to think. My head hurts and my palms were sweaty. I had to make a choice. Why do I protect Maxwell anyway? Why don't I just hand him over, and collect my riches? I gave my answer.

"I want riches, really, but I like the world just how it is. Because what are riches without the challenge to achieve them? Sorry Charlie, but I'm not going to destroy the world that I want to live in. It may have its flaws, but I don't want it gone." Charlie's shade-like mouth curled into a snarl. I thought I had angered her, but she gave an ordinary shrug.

"Oh well. I expected at least one of you to agree, but I have a backup plan." She waved her hands in a specific way, like she was performing a dance. Then she stopped abruptly. "It seems my mongrel army grows restless. They will have fun hunting fresh blood." She continued on. "I will send one hundred hounds. They ought to be able to bring me back Maxwell." Whoa, hounds? An army? What is she talking about?

She held up one hand ominously. She had the three claws upright and obvious.

"Three days. Three days and my hounds will devour you all, and bring me back Maxwell. Even with three days to prepare, it will be futile for you to resist. There is no escape."

With concern encompassing my mind, I thought about our options. We could hide. We could run. We could take the gateway portal that I built right in the middle of the village back to the real world. I realized that I completely forgot about the portal I built with the pig village. I smacked my forehead with the palm of my hand. I look up at Charlie.

"No escape huh?" I say to Charlie, superiority conspicuous in my articulation. "We can take the gateway portal I have right here back to the real world." I jog over to the spot where I constructed the gate. It's still there, and completely intact. "Come on, lets get out of here!" I yell. I shift the lever into the 'on' position.


	8. Chapter 8: Forged Alliance

I stand in triumph and wait for the gateway to turn on. This was our ticket for getting out of this nightmare. A few seconds go by. Nothing happens. Another few seconds go by.

"What the heck?" I say to myself. I flip the switch on and off rapidly. "Come on you piece of junk!" I keep flipping the switch, but then I stop. I take a better look at the machine. I became aware of something that I didn't see before.

"Um, Chip?" I say loudly, so he could hear me from where I was.

Chip peeked his head out hesitantly from behind the grand dining table. "Yes friend?" he replied shakily.

"Did it rain while I was gone?"

"Oh yes, rained for two whole sun-moon," he replied, with some of the shakiness out of his voice. The rain broke some of the delicate wiring of the machine. Right now, it can't do anything, much less jump the gap between dimensions. I give out a long audible sigh. I walk slowly away from the machine and head back to my seat. The pig villagers, Willow and the others, and Charlie watched me as I strolled back to my seat at a sluggish pace. I sat down unceremoniously into my chair, and then put my feet up.

"So, you were saying?" I say to Charlie. She seemed confused and didn't know how to respond for a short time, but then she found words to say.

"Well, uh, that's really all I had to say…" she trailed off uncertainly. "My army of lethal hounds will attack in three days. That's all." She looked back at Maxwell who was standing by through all this. "I will see you soon Maxwell." She began to slowly fade into the fire, and as she did, the flames regained their warm orange glow once again. Silence, except for the crickets and frogs, echoed in the night. It stayed that way for a minute.

"There be hounds?" the pig king said, interrupting the silence. "They attack village?" Now that I think about it, by staying at the village, we were putting the entire pig village population at risk. I felt kinda guilty for taking advantage of their hospitality. We shouldn't drag them into a war they didn't ask for.

Willow grabbed me by my arm and dragged me over to where our group was. We huddled up like a team discussing their game plan.

"Wilson, you have to convince them to fight with us. We can't possibly take on Charlie's army without their help." Willow told me this with a certainty in her eyes. Everyone else in the huddle nodded gravely.

"I think that I am close to finding the answer to banish the essence of the Codex Umbra," Maxwell told me, pointing at the book while doing so. "But I still need more time to understand the details." He grabbed my shoulders. "You have known them for a long time. You are someone that they trust. Convince them, and we can save our world and this one." That's alot of pressure. And would they even want to fight? I guess I had to try. There was no other option. In the time of building the gateway, the hounds would have already arrived, even with every person and pig helping. Everyone around me was looking at me, expecting me to take action. I decided to take on the task of being the diplomat.

"All right, I'll do it," I said. Wolfgang approached me and gave me an iron-grip handshake.

"I wish you luck," he said. I replied with a weak thanks. He probably wasn't even trying and almost broke my hand. Either he is inhumanly strong, or I need to work out.

I walked up to the center of the commotion. Pig villagers were talking amid themselves, and I heard the word "hound" scattered amongst the conversations. The pig king was conversing with the pig I recognized as Hamilton. I decided to try and address the village as a whole instead of talking with just the pig king.

"Hey, pig villagers." The commotion came to a close as all the village eyes fell on me, including the attention of the pig king himself. I had some sweat forming on the back of my neck, and my throat closed up some. I can't have stage fright right now, I have to get this message out.

"What you heard was right," I start off. "Some kind of army of deadly hounds are coming to attack the village." Whispers sprouted from the crowd. "I don't want your village to be attacked, but there are too many of them to take on by ourselves. So I ask for the consensus of the village. Will you help us?" I left my speech on that note, and I stopped and waited for an answer. The pig king spoke out first.

"Wilson has been friend for many sun-moon," the pig king said. "Wilson bring good to village. Wilson help village. Wilson destroy whole spider house." The pig village gave some grunts and some pounded their hooves in approval. "Had many feasts. Safe from spider for many time because Wilson. But Wilson no longer friend." Many gasps and disapproving comments came forth from the crowd. Even I was surprised at what the pig king had said. Then he continued.

"Wilson is not friend, Wilson is village-brother. And fight with village-brother, is fight with village." He pounded his hoof thunderously on the table. "We fight!"

The village erupted with cheers and yells. Pig villagers sped towards me and surrounded me. They were all shouting excitedly about how they were going to fight. They butted heads and had big grins stretched across their faces. I forgot that they had a kind of warrior mentality. After all, they did send me to destroy an entire spider nest by myself as a trial of worth.

Chip pushed his way to the front of the crowd congregating around me.

"We help friend," he said to me. The villagers around him nodded their heads vigorously in agreement. The pig king gave a smile, and nodded in assent.

"What is plan?" Chip said to me eagerly. His question caught me off guard. I hadn't really thought about the defensive plan yet. I was more focused on getting them to fight. I had no clue as of now how to fight off one hundred blood thirsty hounds. All eyes were on me, including Maxwell and the rest of our group. I gave a stuttered response to the mass staring at me expectantly.

"I-I gotta work on it," I told them, "I'll get started on the plan right now. You all just get some rest. We're going to need to make the most of every minute we have left until the invasion." The pig villagers reluctantly waved goodbye and went back to their homes without much protest.

Willow came up to me as the villagers were dispersing. She gave me a punch on my shoulder. "Nice going," she said, yawning as she did. She walked over to the campfire we had going and curled up on a make-shift bed of straw. Wolfgang, Wendy, and the rest gave me their congratulations as they went off to sleep as well. Maxwell stayed behind.

"I can't express my thanks to you enough Wilson," Maxwell told me as I was walking away from the campfire. We faced away from each other. "I will not let my emotions cloud my judgement for any more amount of time. I will destroy the spirit of the Codex Umbra. Though it means I must kill my beloved, I will hesitate no longer. Do what you can, Wilson, and I will." He tread silently back to the campfire, and sat down and stared at the flames of the crackling fire. Well that was dramatic.

"What am I doing?" I think to myself quickly. "I have to devise a perfect defensive strategy by sunrise!" I run over to the grand table and hurriedly take a seat. What am I going to write on? I sat down for a minute and mulled over some options. I don't think that a pen and paper is going to magically be provided for me.

"Here." I look over my shoulder and see that it is Wickerbottom. "You can use this." She handed me a few blank pieces of old yellow paper and a fountain pen. I took the objects and placed them onto the table.

"You just carry this with you all the time?" I said.

"Hm, yes." She walked back to the campfire. I stared intensely at the pen in my right hand, and the papers on the table. I decided not to think too much about it.

Now that I have some materials, it's time to make a strategy. I'll have to plan out every last detail carefully, because one wrong calculation, and someone's life is on me. I start by creating a list of the resources that we had on hand. I brainstormed ideas and wrote those on one of the papers. My ideas consisted of pitfall traps, rock walls, and other defensive structures. In twenty minutes, I had a ton of different ideas. I was pretty excited about it, but then I crunched some numbers. We would need a lot of resources to implement these ideas. I rated the most important defensive ideas from necessary to optional. We are going to need a ton of resources. These three days are going to be frantic.


	9. Chapter 9: The Plan

Hours went by, and I struggled to keep my eyelids from closing shut. I yawned more and more frequently. I've been drawing diagrams and making lists non-stop for these past few hours. I was feeling mentally fatigued, so I decided to get up and stretch my legs. I stretched my arms above my head and leaned back, hearing some pops come from my back. It felt good to be able to stretch.

"So are you going to sleep?" I jumped and nearly had a heart attack. I looked backwards and saw that it was just Wendy. Since when did she walk so quietly? "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she said plainly.

"I just didn't expect you to be awake right now," I replied, scratching the top my head.

"Why aren't you asleep right now?" she asked me straight forwardly.

"Well, I have to get this strategy perfect," I say. "If this isn't perfect, someone is going to get hurt. Or worse." I looked at her and she nodded, like this was the answer she was expecting.

"And what are you doing up?" I question her.

"Maxwell told me that we have to keep the fire going all night. If anyone got caught in the dark, he said they wouldn't come back out. The dark is Charlie's domain." That made sense to me. But as to why he gave Wendy the job, I don't know. Maybe Wendy suggested that she could do it or something. I glanced over at the campfire and observed that everyone else was asleep. Wendy was monotonously stacking logs onto the fire and adding kindling. I say something I regret.

"You had a sister?" Wendy continued tending to the fire as if I had not said a thing. "Uh, never mind. Sorry," I said, sharply turning back to my papers. She stood up and quit putting kindling on the fire. Still not facing me, she said this.

"Yes. I had a sister. She died when we were young. I still knew her very well though. She was my best friend." She turned and faced me. She had tears streaking down her face, but her expression was blank. "I miss her, but I know that she is okay somewhere." Her voice was steady and emotionless, even though she was telling me all this. She stood with her arms at her side, her hands shaking slightly. I felt bad for bringing the subject up. She continued standing there, now unmoving. I had to do something.

I walked over closer to her, and I put her head on my shoulder. I felt a little awkward for doing this, but again, she must be having a rough time. She rested her head on me and didn't speak.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up. I'm too nosy for my own good," I say to her, trying to be sincere. She pushed herself off my shoulder and shook her head.

"It's okay, I just haven't ever told anyone before. I've always never spoken about Abigail. Thank you Wilson." She walked back.

"But wait, thanks for what?" I say to her, catching her before she walked off. She turned her whole body to face my direction.

"For being here." She gave a smile so faint, that I still don't know if she actually did smile. "Don't stay up all night," she said to me. I said I'd try not to. She went back to where she chose as her sleeping spot.

I found myself standing and staring at where Wendy was going to sleep. I abruptly turned around and went back to where my work was. I have to get focused now. I'm not going to sleep tonight.

Finally, after hours and hours of extreme mental pressure and determination, I gazed proudly at the plan that I had created. At long last, my strategy had been perfected. I had a back-up plan for every back-up plan. I had every last miniscule detail planned out to the location of every person during the attack, to the combat techniques. I also made up some ideas for the construction of the defense, and the collection of resources. I smiled proudly at the papers that I had recorded my designs on. I was looking at the battle plan page, and I set it down and found Willow in my face.

"Oh hey Willow," I said tiredly. I give out a long yawn, and rub my stinging eyes. "What's up?"

"What's up is that you look like a homeless person." I realized that I must have looked that way. My hair was ragged, a beard was starting to grow on my face, and my eyes must have looked irritated.

"I don't care what I look like," I said to her, with a little of energy back in my voice. I waved the papers in front of her face. "I have the plan done." I saw Woodie get up out of the grass bed that he made for himself. He moved himself over to where I was.

"Wilson, you don't look so good. Maybe you should take a nap, eh?" he said to me.

"I'm completely fine," I say to him, slurring some of my words by mistake. "I have to get the plan explained to the pig villagers." I stand up to walk to the pig king, who was still asleep. My legs felt numb and I stumbled as a result of it. I was almost to the pig king. I had to wake him up so we could get the villagers assembled. The pig king was fast asleep in his trademarked royal chair. I didn't want to be rude and wake him up, but with an army invading soon, I felt that I had no choice.

As I approached the chair, the pig king started making weird wheezing sounds. Concerned for his health, I picked up the pace. I was about an arms length away from him when he suddenly disappeared. Yes, vanished. Out of thin air. Out of the throne came weird shadows. They took on the forms of various animals. Wolves, snakes, and one was even a frog. Confused and surprised, I stumbled back a few steps.

I don't believe it. Charlie is standing in all her malevolence. She shrieked a horrible cry, and she flew towards me, her tentacle-like shadow legs flowing horrifically behind her. I turned and ran in the opposite direction. She instantly teleported on top of me somehow. She had my right arm pinned with one of her mangled hands, and she had my other limbs restrained by her many legs. She screeched while her face was next to my eyes. Her mouth grew, and she now had two mouths with rows of black teeth. She is going to kill me. I'm going to die. I yell loudly as she sunk her two sets of fangs into my chest.

"Wilson!" I gasp and breathe heavily as I sit up. Wendy had a look of disapproval on her face. "I told you not to stay up all night," she told me. I couldn't tell if she was mocking me or if she was serious. I sat up as the dark spots left my vision. It was a dream. That's a relief.

"Agh, what happened?" I said, rubbing a knot on my head. It felt like someone hit me with a rock.

"You were walkin' and ya just fell flat on yer face, eh?" Woodie said to me, as he was picking something out of his teeth. I thought that I wouldn't pass out from exhaustion, but I guess I was wrong.

"It was pretty funny," Willow said, not looking up from the flame of her lighter. Why is she always staring at that stupid lighter? She had a small smirk on her face.

"Well as long as you're entertained, it's all worth it," I replied, annoyed. I look around and take a quick head count. Everyone is here but Wolfgang.

"Hey, where's Wolfgang?" I ask no one in particular. Wickerbottom looked up from a small, pocket-sized book she was reading. She was seated at the grand dining table. Maxwell was reading the Codex Umbra a few seats down from Wickerbottom.

"Wolfgang went to hunt with Chip's hunting party," Wickerbottom continued, "They informed us that they would return about midday. They should be coming back any moment." I must have passed out for a few hours. I've already lost a lot of time in the beginning phase of the village defense. But alright, I guess I'll wait for everyone to be present before I start saying any strategy.

Around ten minutes later, I managed to spot Chip's form in the distance. He was walking at a medium pace on the cobbled road that swung through the village. I saw more pig villagers appear, walking behind Chip. I hadn't spotted Wolfgang yet. A scarce time later, Wolfgang appeared behind the hunting party. He was dragging something enormous. What the heck did they kill?

Shortly, the hunting party arrived to the village, and soon after their appearance, the villagers crowded around and set their sight on the beast they took down. I jogged over to take a look at what Wolfgang had dragged in. My jaw fell to the floor. It was no creature like I had ever seen before.

It had a spherical body with two extremely long legs. If the creature were standing, I'd say it was at least eleven to twelve feet tall. The spherical torso had only a single eye on it, like a cyclops. It was covered in a straight coat of black fur, and had three enormous eyelashes for its single eye. It had a beak on it, and its one eye was still open.

"What in the heck did you bring here Chip?!" I say to Chip, pointing at the creature. Chip looked at me like I was crazy.

"Village call this tallbird. You never see tallbird?" he asked me. I told them I never saw one before, and that we didn't have 'tallbirds' in my world. He gave a weird facial expression. Wolfgang was moving his shoulders side to side, in an effort to stretch them.

"It was tough beast," Wolfgang said to me, leaning on a spear as he did. "It almost get me." Wolfgang walked over to the campfire and drank from the canteen. Wendy and the rest of our group sat around Wolfgang and interrogated him about his hunt. Watching them talk, I could only think about the amount of time we were losing to set up a defense. But truthfully, curiosity got the best of me and I sat on a stump that was in the vicinity of our camp so I could listen to Wolfgang's story. The hunting party he was with stood next to him so they could listen in as well.

Wolfgang started out by telling us how they found their prey. Through his broken English, I pieced together what happened. Wolfgang followed the pig villagers until they came upon a nest. On that nest, there was a large blue egg. He stopped telling his story and motioned at one of the pigs with his hand. A pig who participated in the hunt brought over a blue egg. I inspected the egg. It was huge, at least as big as a football. He continued on talking about how the tallbird jumped out of a clump of trees and charged them when they approached the nest. With great enthusiasm, he described the fierce combat that took place. He told of how he rolled away from the smashing attacks the tallbird threw at him. He filled us in on the plan that he and the pig villagers used to take it down. The pigs distracted the tallbird from the front, and Wolfgang flanked and attacked it from behind. In great detail, he described how he skillfully scaled the legs of the beast, used his momentum to swing onto its head, and then deliver a killing blow to the back of its skull. As he finished his story, I noticed how every pig villager had slowly joined in, listening to the story. There was a crowd behind me.

Chip clapped Wolfgang on the back. "Is great warrior," he said with praise. "Maybe better than Wilson." There was no doubt that he was better at fighting than me, but I didn't say anything. Looking around, I saw that this was my opportunity to tell everyone of the plan. Even the pig king was a short distance away, eating an appetizer of spider glands. I got everyone's attention and held up the paper which contained my thought out strategy. As usual, all the attention was set on me.

"Okay, so here's the plan."


	10. Chapter 10: Feigned Ignorance

For about an hour, I explained the plan in deep detail and specifics. I took into account of everyone's skills and placed them with the appropriate job. Willow and Wendy would scavenge for small resources, such as rocks, twigs, etc. Wolfgang would be in charge of hunting and gathering food. Woodie would obviously be in charge of gathering timber and lumber. Wickerbottom would help me oversee construction of the defense.

"And what should I do?" Maxwell asked.

"You need to keep researching the Codex Umbra, learn as much as you can," I tell him. "We need to know how to destroy Charlie."

"I will do my best," he replied back to me.

"Alright, everyone ready?" I ask. I look over the group of people I had come to know, bonded by the trials of this world. Willow gave me a wry smile and a thumbs up. Wendy nodded her head. Woodie gave a big grin and heaved his axe over his shoulder. Wickerbottom replied with a yes, adjusting her glasses as she did. Not looking up from the Codex Umbra, Maxwell gave me a sign indicating he was onboard. Wolfgang stared back with determination, showing his concurrence. The pig villagers behind them all gave whoops and hollers. The pig king gave a resonant yell. Well, let's get started.

Willow and Wendy set out with a small group of pig villagers to begin collecting small materials. Wolfgang assisted another small group of pig villagers in skinning and gutting the tallbird. Woodie went off with some villagers to chop trees and bring back wood. Apparently, these pigs gather wood by punching small trees until they fall. Wickerbottom was directing the remaining pig villagers on where to begin digging holes for the pitfall traps.

"I took the liberty of reading your notes and beginning the project," Wickerbottom said to me.

"Yeah no problem," I say. "I'll help dig the pitfalls, you make sure the pigs are digging in the right place." She told me not to worry about a thing. I picked up a shovel that we had on hand. I looked up at the sun, shading my eyes as I did so. Can we finish this defense on time?

After much back-breaking labor on my part, along with the enormous help of the villagers, we finished roughly half of the outer defense. I'm impressed they could dig holes so fast with just their hooves. We had around thirty or so deep holes, covered with leaves and branches for camoflage. Wiping sweat from my brow, I took note of the lateness of the day. It was approaching nighttime. And from what Maxwell said, I don't want to "reside in darkness forever". I began climbing out of the steep hole that I was in the middle of digging. When I was near the top of the hole, I saw a hand extended out to me. Or a hoof. I took the help gratefully.

"Good work?" It was Chip who helped me out of the hole. After he helped me out, I brushed my hands off on my pants and gave him a reply.

"Yeah, more or less." I leaned on the shovel that was in my left hand. "Anything new?"

"Yes. Tallbird for dinner."

Walking with Chip, I made my way to the dining area. It was already crowded with pig villagers who appeared to be in high spirits. The bonfire was blazing brightly and the fireflies were floating around lazily while the pig villagers were eating contentedly. Wolfgang saw me and waved.

"Wilson, come over and eat." I went over and took a seat next to Wolfgang. Chip branched off and went to talk to the pig king. On the plate in front of me was a slab of meat. Next to it was the abomination these pigs called desert. A single spider gland. I pushed the spider gland to the far edge of my plate.

"You don't want it?" Wolfgang asked me. I told him to help himself. He picked the spider gland off my plate and ate it in a single gulp. He smacked his lips and wiped his mouth.

"It has nice aftertaste," he told me. I tried to maintain an appetite. With my hands, I took a bite out of the meat set on my plate. It tasted like really rare steak. Must be the tallbird meat Chip was talking about. As I finished my first mouthful and was getting ready for my next bite, I saw Willow and Wendy, along with their helpers, walk into the village. They were carrying lots of small things, such as twigs and rocks. They all dropped their armful of resources onto the pile that they had been building all day.

A few minutes later after that group had taken their spots at the table, Woodie and his crew walked in. After that Maxwell joined. He was previously sitting by the campfire, studying the Codex Umbra. He didn't take his eyes off the book as he ate. Wickerbottom took her seat after she wrote some notes.

A short half-hour later after a satisfying dinner, we retired to our sleeping quarters. I noticed the large pile of random rocks and foliage that was piled high next to our campfire. It should be enough to, at the very least, begin the wall defenses. I laid down on the patch of grass that was my bed. I fell asleep and had a dreamless night.

I woke up with a ray of sunshine blasting my eyelids. Squinting, I sat up and stared straight ahead. Some were still asleep, some were already up. I tried to keep a positive attitude, though time kept looming over me.

After about an hour after I got up, everyone was awake. We held a short meeting, then we split up to do our jobs. Today we would focus on phase two of the defense; the walls. Realizing that we could not gather enough rocks in order to build a rock wall perimeter around the village, we decided to use logs instead. Woodie and his group netted a large amount of logs, more than enough to construct the perimeter defense.

Chip and some other villagers who were not busy with other tasks helped me with constructing the walls. Wickerbottom was chief supervisor as usual. The pigs were kinda clumsy at building the walls, but they eventually got the hang of it. It was tedious work. Dragging logs over, stacking them up, securing them with rope, repeat. This went on all day, and I thought I was going to die of boredom. But dusk finally arrived. All the villagers quit their work. Woodie arrived first to the village. Wendy and Willow arrived shortly afterwards. Wolfgang appeared last, dragging multiple carcasses behind him. The pig villagers that hunted with Wolfgang looked like they had a good haul too.

With the bonfire expressing its routine light, we feasted on the various creatures that were brought back from the hunt. There was turkey, rabbit, and spider meat set all around the table. They even brought back some honey. Though the chatter was calm and light, we all knew of the impending danger in our minds. I slept uneasily.

Morning came once again. The goal for today was to set up more traps. Being careful to not get caught in them, we devised and planted many traps both inside the walls and outside of them. No one went out to gather anything today. Improving the main defense took priority over gathering more resources. After working the larger part of the day, I took a seat. Torches were lit throughout the village as night time approached.

Today was the third day. I watched nervously as the day faded into night. Anxiously wringing my hands, I looked forward. Our last stand was drawing close.


	11. Chapter 11: Cursed Blood

The night was cold. The wind scattered through the trees while the night echoed its eerie tune. The foreboding tone of the night got to us all, prompting whispers and heavy silence. I didn't know when the invasion would begin, but I knew it would happen. Comprehending its inevitability, and then waiting for it to happen, was maddening. Part of me wished to prolong the delay, another part wanted to end the wait. The night creatures went on with their routine noises.

I got up from my seat and went on a walk through the village. The stars were absent on the moonless night sky. Dark clouds added to the mood of my ambled journey. Knowing that I shouldn't wander far from the village, I ended my night stroll and went back to the center. I sat back down and rested my arms on the edge of the main dining table.

Maxwell looked over at me, relieving his attention from his book. His expression was grim, and he didn't say anything. I returned a look of roughly the same emotion, and then turned my attention to the walls. I saw Chip and Wolfgang perched on top. They remained vigilant, keeping a decided gaze at the darkness outside of the village. They would give the alarm when they spotted the enemy.

I checked on Willow. She was at her position. She would set off a trap whenever the hounds breached the outer perimeter. She caught me looking at her. She gave a light-hearted wave. I waved back.

Woodie seemed to be the most nervous out of all of us. His hands jittered, and his eyes shifted about. He glanced up at the night sky more than once. I could only assume he was nervous about the impending assault, and nothing else.

"Wilson, I need to speak with you," Maxwell said. I walked over to him. I stood patiently and waited for him to speak.

"Through my studying, I have found a dark but powerful force that I can wield. It is powerful enough to turn a creature to particles of dust." I took a step backwards and looked back in awe. That much power in a human's hand is a scary thought.

"So you could destroy the hounds? All of them?" I ask him. If he can use this power, we may not even have to worry about fighting.

"Yes. However there is one drawback to this great force," he replied. "Because of its dark and unstable nature, if I use it, I will most likely die." My face turned serious. Stop the invasion, but at the cost of Maxwell's life. He continued on.

"If the worst happens, I will use it. Don't…" Suddenly he was interrupted by distant howls that traveled through the air. My hands turned cold and my face was stung by a burst of cold wind. I stood absolutely still and listened to the far off barks. It must be the hounds.

Wolfgang looked down at me from his post and yelled, "They are here! Ready yourself!" I immediately ran from Maxwell and clambered up the wall to where Wolfgang was. I had no time to talk to Maxwell. I made it to the top of the wall and concentrated hard on the dark. I couldn't see anything. The torches provided ample lighting along the wall. The entire village was bathed in torch light as well.

The distant barks became no longer distant. Mere seconds afterwards, I saw dog-like creatures emerge from the shadowed tree line. Chip turned around abruptly and slid down the steep wall we were on. He ran throughout the village alerting all of the pig villagers. The pig villagers rallied at the walls, and the pig king watched from a distance. Within a minute, the villagers were rallied and ready for battle. I watched the oncoming horde intently.

As I predicted, the pitfall traps began trapping their targets. I saw hounds slip from sight as they fell into the deep traps set. Many were assumedly killed from the hazards, but more survived than I thought. The hounds continued bounding towards the walls with quick strides. They had passed the pitfalls. It happened so fast that I could not get a count of how many were left.

Relentless and unwavering, they approached closer to the walls. They began nearing the second trap. This trap must be set off at the perfect time to be effective. I made eye contact with Willow. She said nothing, holding her post. The hounds seemed to gain a burst of speed at seeing Willow, who was in front of the walls. They ran together as a cohesive unit, like a well trained army. I watched them and counted silently to myself.

"Three, two, one…" I waited until the best possible moment. "Now!" I yelled at Willow. With speed I thought she didn't have, she set fire to the ground. Flames bursted upwards and set out towards the approaching hounds. It created a wall of flame in front of them. The hounds were on a collision course, and most of the hounds dove right into the flames. Burning fur and flesh filled the air. I was satisfied and sickened at the sight.

The fire trap was set in advance yesterday. Grass and other extremely flammable objects were set in a trail. The fire would follow the trail and eventually reached a wall of combustible materials. Willow herself volunteered to set it off. It was also her idea.

The fire did its work and thinned the numbers of hounds. The fire died faster than we had anticipated though. The hounds hesitated as the fire burned out its last fuel. With the fire out, the hounds regained their confidence. They resumed their hunt with more ferocity this time, as if losing their comrades angered them. Willow sprinted away and made her way up the wall. Her part was done. She was making her way back into the safety of the village.

They were coming up on the wall too fast. With a rough estimate, I decided more than half were taken out. The pig villagers were now on the wall next to me. They looked determined and ready to face the threat. I looked at the wave of mongrels that were now attempting to scale the wall. I kept a positive attitude and told myself that we have the advantage. But I realize that I had miscalculated.

There were more survivors lurking in the shadows that I had missed. There were too many. There was definitely more than seventy. We can't win outnumbered two to one. The pig villagers were punching hounds as they were climbing up. The hounds made a whimpering sound as they fell off the wall and to the ground. While I was distracted by the battle raging around me, a hound outside of my vision bit my leg. He held on with a vice-like grip. I shook my leg quickly and tried to pull the hound off of me. I was unarmed.

I saw a spear land between its eyes. Its pupils went white and lifeless, and its grip released slowly. It fell off of me and rolled down the wall, hitting a few hounds along the way.

"I don't have more spears," Wolfgang said to me. He kicked a hound down the wall. "What is the plan?" he said. The battle around me was going sour. Pigs were beginning to retreat as the seemingly endless ripple of hounds ascended and posted themselves at the top of the wall. To stay any longer would be risky.

"Fall back! Retreat!" I yell out. The pigs did so immediately. They finished their fight with whatever hound they were struggling with and slid down the opposite side of the wall into the village. Going their own routes, they eventually converged onto the pig king. They set up a defensive wall around him. I slid down the wood wall and ran to join them. Multiple hounds were tearing at my heels. I put all my energy and effort into running.

As I arrived at the pig villager defense, the hound swarm stopped. A few hounds from the top of the wall straggled back into their brethren army. They stopped and sniffed at the air. They stared at the pigs, and the pigs stared back. It was a standoff between the two armies.

Wendy, Wickerbottom, Maxwell, and Woodie stayed behind the lines from the fight. They were all here. I saw Wolfgang walk slowly in beside me. He made it back to the pig king as well.

"Everyone, stand aside." Maxwell said this in a very calm and collected tone. He pushed me aside and made a path through the pigs. He walked forward to face the hound threat. "Listen carefully. After this is over, take the Codex. Read it, and it will lead you to the only hope for our world." He can't be serious.

"What are you going to do?" Wendy asked Maxwell. Maxwell did not respond. Wolfgang stood silently by as he held his injured arm.

"Maxwell, you're the only person that can stop Charlie," I say to him. "I don't think I can even read the Codex. You're the only one who can understand it. You can't die."

"He's going to die?" Wickerbottom inquired. Maxwell continued looking at the hounds. The hounds grew restless, and our numbers now no longer intimidated them. They growled and stepped towards carefully, flashing their sharp rows of teeth. Maxwell drew the Codex Umbra from his coat pocket. He held it in his hands. He flipped the book to one of the last pages. He concentrated on the blurry words scratched onto the pages.

"Don't!" Wendy lunged out in an attempt to stop him. She was too far away to do anything in time. Maxwell moved his index finger cryptically along the glowing purple pages. The hounds were now running at full speed towards Maxwell. Maxwell breathed in deeply. But as he was about to chant, the dark clouds in the sky dissipated. The sky shone brightly with a full moon. The sudden appearance of light broke Maxwell's concentration, and he looked up at the lit night sky.

I heard a pig villager grunt to my right. I looked over at him. He fell to his knees and held his head. The rest of the pig villagers went to the ground and held their heads as well, as if they had rehearsed this. I looked at the pig villager who had fallen to the ground first. I watched something peculiar happen before my eyes. His muscles began to bulge while veins appeared and disappeared along his body, flashing like a dark ritual. Ragged brown hair sprouted up from his arms, and then spread like fire onto the rest of his body. Soon, he was covered fully in hair. I looked around in surprised horror as I see all the pig villagers become these bulky hairy beasts.

The hounds had reached where Maxwell was. A hound bounded on top of Maxwell. The Codex Umbra flew from his hand and fell onto a patch of thick grass. The hound was viciously sinking its teeth into Maxwell's flesh. Maxwell was pushing back the hound's mouth, trying to keep the teeth away from him.

At seeing the bloodshed, the newly transformed pig villagers gave a synchronized cry towards the sky. Each to their own will, they turned their rage towards the hounds. They ignored us completely, and no longer seemed to be sentient.

In a brutal and efficient manner, they focused on killing all the hounds. Sounds of war came out from the power struggle. Though the hounds fought back, they weren't a match for the unreal power of these transformed pigs. A pig who was running past Maxwell tackled the hound on top of him. With a bestial look in his eye, the pig villager brought a crushing blow to the hound's skull. Maxwell sat up and watched the carnage in silence. I watched with disbelief.

In a short time, with no casualties on the pig side at all, dead hound corpses littered the floor. As one hound was limping and trying to escape, a pig villager jumped on it and delivered a beat down. After that pig had made its kill, it gave out a howl of triumph. The other transfigured pigs followed suit and gave out their howls of victory. Some of the pigs looked down on the corpses and kicked them around. Maxwell, as well as Wolfgang, Wendy, and Wickerbottom, stood close by me. I turned my head and took a quick look around. I couldn't find Woodie. I had to assume he was somewhere nearby.

The pig villagers quit their idling and noticed us for the first time. They walked towards us menacingly. They gave low roars and beast-like snorts. I had no time to do a headcount. I decided to try to bring the pig villagers back to their senses.

"Wait guys, its us!" I say, holding my arms out. They don't listen. They continued approaching us with an obvious intent to kill.

"I am sorry. They no speak when werepig." It was the pig king who said this.

"Werepig?" Wolfgang asked. He winced and closed one eye. His right arm was not looking any better.

"Werepig is curse of my people. When there is big moon, they are werepig. Werepig kills." The pig king said.

"Then why aren't you a werepig?" I asked back to him.

"Moon ignore me. Not werepig." Though being obese and useless in terms of survival, I understand his position now. His immunity gave him the right to rule.

Our conversation with the pig king was shortened. The werepigs grew bored and decided to stop waiting. They howled at the moon, and then rapidly approached us. They were fast and deadly. As they were running towards us, Wendy urgently yelled a question to the pig king.

"Can't you order them to stop!?" she yelled.

The pig king grimaced, and spoke defeatedly. "I cannot."


	12. Chapter 12: Aftermath

After the pig king had spoken those words, we all stood in shock. Maxwell reached into his empty coat pocket.

"Damn, where's the Codex?" he said aloud. He scanned the ground for it. But the werepigs had finally reached us. One werepig swiped at Maxwell, but missed. The pig king was shouting orders at them in futility. Two or three werepigs jumped on top of me and pinned me to the ground. I felt a sharp pain in my knee and heard a silent crack. The old wound that had been inflicted from the hound previously now throbbed violently.

A blow was struck on my nose. My head whipped violently to the right. My eyes watered. I began seeing double. Another punch was brought down between my eyes. Blood dribbled down my forehead and dripped into my eyes. I fought back and threw punches, kicks, whatever I could to try and survive. I soon exhausted myself. I was too tired. So tired. The world began fading around me, slowly turning black. If dying doesn't take any effort, I'll gladly accept it. I closed my eyes and rested.

Yet death didn't come. I cracked open an eye and looked at the pig villager who was on my chest. He was breathing heavily and appeared to be fast asleep. But more importantly, he was not a hairy beast anymore. But how? My leg was killing me and one of my eyes were swollen shut. I stared up at the night sky with the eye that could still see. The moon was no longer shining. It was completely covered by a dense group of dark clouds. The lack of moonlight must have caused them to revert back.

With a great deal of effort, I pushed the sleeping pig villager off of me. I didn't even bother standing up afterwards. I looked around to see if I could see where everyone was. I saw Maxwell helping Wendy up to her feet. I saw Wolfgang searching the ground for something. The Codex Umbra for Maxwell most likely. Wickerbottom was wiping dirt off of her glasses and trying to smooth out the scratches that were on the lenses. Woodie finally made an appearance. His clothes were torn and he seemed to be freaked out. I couldn't blame him. But where was he during the werepig incident? Frankly right now I don't care.

As I looked around, an empty pit formed in my stomach. Willow isn't here. I searched the area with my one good eye more carefully. She was supposed to meet up here. Why isn't she here? It must be that I can't see very well right now, because I saw her start to climb up the wall. She's here somewhere.

Ignoring the stinging coming from my bad eye, I used my right arm to push myself up. I carefully set down my bad leg, and then used my better leg to stand up. I leaned heavily to one side and limped pathetically to Maxwell. He had lots of blood splattered on his clothes and his face was covered in dirt.

"Maxwell, where's Willow?" I say to him. He shrugs slowly and shakes his head.

"I don't know. She isn't anywhere inside the pig village. Was she supposed to return here?"

"She was," I replied back. I thought she made it back behind the walls, but I must not have paid close enough attention. Who knows whether she's disappeared in the dark, or if she's severely injured somewhere. Or dead. I took my question to each person left inside the village. Wolfgang said he hadn't seen her since the fire trap went off. Wendy didn't know where she was either. Woodie gave a quick excuse and said he wasn't anywhere near the walls during the invasion. He didn't bother to explain how his clothes were ripped in such a weird way. Wickerbottom had no information as to her whereabouts either.

"I'm going to search for Willow, I'll be back within the hour," I stated to everyone. I begin walking towards the exit of the village. My leg shot pain up my spine. I stopped and took a deep breath. I stood still for a moment, then continued walking, keeping my injured leg stuck out to the side in an effort to dull the pain.

"We're worried about Willow too, but you can't search for her in your state," Wendy told me factually. "Take some pressure off that leg." I didn't want to just give up on Willow and not know her fate, but the cries of my wounded body told me otherwise. I gave in and made my way over to the village dining table. I sat down quietly and stared at the ground. The pig king remained silent.

"I will go look," Wolfgang said. "I am not hurt much." I eyed his arm, and I couldn't say that he wasn't hurt much. Nevertheless, he broke into a jog and climbed over the wood walls. He stood on top of the walls and took one of the torches out from its holder. He slid somewhat gracefully down the beat-down wood wall. Wendy gave out a soft sigh.

"The point was to keep all the injured people resting," she said. I laughed even though it wasn't the time. I just needed to keep myself distracted. Wendy looked at me as if I were a mental patient. Then she went off to talk to the pig king about something. I leaned back on my arm and stared up into the sky. Woodie was lying on a dry grass bed, trying to get some sleep.

I had the impression that my thoughts would keep me occupied, but boredom soon caught up to me. Wolfgang has been gone for an hour or so now. The pig villagers engaged in deep sleep, not one moving or rolling over. They slept wherever they happened to be when the moonlight was blocked. I checked the night sky nervously. If the moon came back out from behind those clouds, the werepigs would be back. How I survived was sheer luck. The kind of luck that doesn't happen twice.

"Wilson, stay still. I'm going to try to wrap up your leg." It was Wendy.

"Where have you been?" I ask. She had been busy with something for the past hour. She gestured over to where Maxwell was seated on the ground. Maxwell had some crude wraps over the side of his face and on his hands.

"Did you fix him up?" I said to her. She nodded her head and asked me to stick out my leg.

"Well, I wanted to be a nurse," she said to me, acting somewhat shy. "I spent hours studying medical books. It was a good time killer." She thoroughly inspected my leg. After she looked over my leg, she picked something up from off the ground. I glanced at it casually. Is that what I think it is?

"Whoa!" I said loudly. I backed up and moved a few seats back. "You are not putting that on me! It'll probably just make my leg worse." It was a spider gland that she was holding in her hand. That's great if she wants to play nurse, but I would prefer not to infect my leg any more than it might be.

"It's fine Wilson," Maxwell said to me. He hid a small smile. "It actually works similar to a disinfectant." He removed the crude grass-made bandage from one of his hands. His hand looked pretty bad and scarred up, but it looked better. I saw that there was some kind of red residue on the cuts of his hand.

"Yes, trust the girl," Wickerbottom said with a tired voice. She didn't have any major injuries, but on the small injuries that she did have, there was the same dried red liquid on them. I looked back from Maxwell to Wickerbottom, and then to Wendy. Wendy was standing silently and staring at me patiently.

"Alright," I said. I moved over to the seat that was closest to Wendy. I sat down and extended my leg forward for her. She looked my leg over quickly, and then cut open the spider gland with her fingernail. A red ooze started to drip out. She carefully began to apply the substance to the lacerations on my leg. She filled in all the open wounds on my leg, and then reached down to pick up a grass-bandage. She placed it onto my leg slowly and wrapped it around my leg. Luckily, the red goo was sticky and the bandage stayed in place. After my leg, she put a generous amount of that stuff onto my eye, along with the other scratches on my face. She wiped the sweat that accumulated on her forehead and admired her work.

"Now don't move around a lot. That bandage will probably come off easy," she said while getting herself up.

"Okay, doctor's orders," I replied half jokingly. Her eyes drooped, and she gave out a long yawn. She went over close to the campfire that we had going. She layed down and eventually fell asleep.

To be honest, I started to feel better. The swelling on my eye went down, and I could actually look out of both eyes. My leg started feeling numb and I noticed I could walk around more comfortably. Using both my eyes, I looked at Maxwell. He was rapidly reading the Codex Umbra. I guess he found it. Feeling in a much better state, I sat back and waited for Wolfgang to return.

It took about another thirty minutes, and I recognized the sound of Wolfgang's steps. He wasn't exactly very stealthy when moving. The walls clattered as Wolfgang threw his body weight up the walls. The loud sounds woke Wendy up from her light sleep. Woodie however, didn't stir.

Wolfgang made his way back down to our side carefully, keeping his injuries in mind. He was running at full speed towards us. Out of breath, he stopped briefly and then spoke to us.

"I found her," he said.

"Really?" I said excitedly. She must be alright.

"Where is she then?" Maxwell asked impatiently. "Why didn't you bring her back?" Wendy had already gotten up and was next to Maxwell. Wolfgang stopped catching his breath and talked to us all urgently.

"I cannot move her. She is dying." The words kindled my guilt.


End file.
